Destined for life in fire service
Steven Greenyer was destined to be part of the New Zealand fire service, reporter Yashas Srinivas discovered in a look back on the former Mid-South Canterbury acting area commander’s 46 year service.
In his role as a firefighter Steven Greenyer has attended some of the country’s worst tragedies. The Christchurch earthquakes, the Pike River Mine disaster in 2010, substantial vegetation fires in Marlborough and the Mackenzie – all incidents Greenyer says he will always remember.
However, there is one incident the recently retired former Mid-South Canterbury acting area commander says affected him the most.
On April 14, 1995, Greenyer attended a car crash just north of the Makarewa Bridge, outside Invercargill.
Three young women were killed in the head-on crash, with intoxicated Invercargill man Trevor McLeay charged with driving with excessive blood alcohol concentration.
The three women died instantly, and their car was engulfed in flames.
‘‘I’ve tried not to be affected by incidents I’ve gone to, but I’ll always remember that one crash in Invercargill.
‘‘It’s just the fact that three women died, and the car was completely engulfed by fire that affected me the most.’’
It seems Greenyer was destined for a life in the fire service.
Growing up in fire stations, with a father who was in the service for more than 30 years, he says he knew the role ‘‘pretty well’’ and had an interest in it.
The former Mid-South Canterbury acting area commander retired in September after 46 years with the now named Fire and Emergency NZ, starting his career at the Invercargill brigade in 1975 as a volunteer before joining as an employee the following year.
‘‘I lived in fire stations most of my younger life,’’ Greenyer said.
‘‘I knew pretty well about the fire service and had an interest in it. Just after I finished my apprenticeship I thought it’s a good career, it paid reasonably well and had a good shift pattern, so I joined.’’
He moved through the ranks in Invercargill to senior station officer, and in 2001 came to Timaru to take up the position of deputy chief fire officer.
‘‘We had a reorganisation of the rank structure and my rank changed rank to assistant commander and for the last four years I have been the acting area commander for Mid-South Canterbury.’’
During his years of service he also worked in managerial positions in Nelson and the West Coast.
For Greenyer, the most cherished moment of his career as a firefighter was when he got promoted to a senior firefighter.
‘‘It was the first step on the rung, and it was quite an achievement for me.’’
Recent tragedies in South Canterbury – the deaths of three young children in Timaru just weeks after the sudden death of a Timaru teen, a horror car crash which claimed the lives of five teenagers at Washdyke, near Timaru, on August 7, two big wind storms, as well as the region being in Covid-19 lockdown for several weeks, all put stress on emergency services.
Greenyer asked Timaru to ‘‘just hang in there’’.
‘‘All communities go through periods of grief and come out the other side just fine. As long as people don’t forget about those that have been badly affected.’’
One of the changes he hopes to see in the future for Fire and Emergency is firefighters becoming even more involved in medical response.
Greenyer said the integration of urban and rural fire services in 2017 was a significant step for Fire and Emergency.
‘‘It’s something I always thought should happen, and I think in the future we’ll get a much better delivery of service to the public of New Zealand.’’
He had a few words of wisdom for young and aspiring firefighters around the country.
‘‘It’s a great career. It has its moments where you’re put under a great deal of stress both physically and psychologically, but it’s a great career, and you build great comradeship with people you work with.’’ His
‘‘It’s a great career. It has its moments where you’re put under a great deal of stress both physically and psychologically, but it’s a great career, and you build great comradeship with people you work with.’’
retirement plans are to move to a holiday home in The Catlins with his wife.
‘‘There is a bit of work to do there and I’m really looking forward to retirement.’’
Fire and Emergency assistant area commander Stephen Butler, who worked with Greenyer for nearly a decade, said he had never met someone so professional.
‘‘The three things that define Steven are his attention to detail, his knowledge of firefighting and his public speaking,’’ Butler said.
‘‘He will be missed around here, and he has definitely earned his retirement after 46 years of service. We wish him all the best.
‘‘He has that attention to detail and a lot of knowledge required for firefighting. He is an amazing public speaker.’’
St John ambulance territory manager for South Canterbury Darryn Grigsby said Greenyer made the collaboration between St John and Fire and Emergency possible.
‘‘He has always been a mentor I have looked up to,’’ Grigsby said.