Aramoana massacre fireman’s deadly start
A senior Central Otago firefighter, who was one of the first on the scene of New Zealand’s worst shooting spree, has been recognised for his services.
Alexandra Volunteer Fire Brigade Chief Fire Office Russell Anderson, 55, is a recipient of the Queen’s Service Medal.
‘‘I am very humbled but there is nothing that I do on my own to make the station successful. It is a team effort. Everybody pitches in and pulls their weight.’’
Anderson, who has been chief at the Alexandra station for 15 years, got a ‘‘tough awakening’’ into the fire service when he started volunteer firefighting in Port Chalmers, Dunedin, in 1989 – a year before gunman David Gray shot and killed 13 people in the seaside town of Aramoana, before he was himself shot by police.
At the time, Anderson’s day job was a police constable, but he had been called out to a house fire at the scene, unaware he was entering the massacre.
‘‘There was a house on fire and we got a call from police saying there could be firearms involved.
‘‘We pulled into the street and people were waving and police called up and said we had to be 2.5km out. There were no cops there. We were the first there. ‘‘Later on, we found out there were people lying there wounded and dead. We had to back out then we waited there and then Stu Guthrie came down in his police car. He stopped and he said there was a gunman. I asked if he wanted a hand, and he said ‘yeah’.
‘‘We borrowed an old rifle off a neighbour and Stu said you take the front, I’ll take the back and we will pin him down. (Gray) came out the front and I challenged him to put his gun down and he ran to the back through the house and Stu challenged him, then there was gunfire. Another cop arrived and we went forward and came across Stu. It was a dark day in New Zealand history. I never talked about it for years and years and years.’’