Burning desire to help out motivates volunteers | Hawkes Bay News | Local News in Hawkes Bay

Running into a burning building to save lives can be all in a day's work for some firefighters but they don't do it for the glory.

Instead, what motivates them is their desire to help the community.

While they may not ask for recognition, Dannevirke's chief fire officer, Mike Finucane, said it was good to be able to give the volunteers something to reward them for the work they did.

Last week, Dannevirke Volunteer Fire Brigade members were rewarded for their efforts and presented with badges or bars to recognise their contribution to society as well as acknowledging the 10th anniversary of the International Year of the Volunteer.

"Some of the brigade who have already received a medal, were presented with a bar and, for the newer members of the brigade, we presented them with the medal to wear on their undress uniform.

"The members do a fantastic job and is great to be able to recognise their huge contribution to the community," Mr Finucane said.

There was more to being a firefighter than most people realised and this was mostly done on their own time. "The training is a lot more intense than it used to be and there is more accountability," Mr Finucane said.

"Each firefighter has to achieve a level of training so they can continue to respond to incidents in the community."

Being a volunteer firefighter was huge commitment as brigade members were on-call 24 hours a day seven days a week.

"When you consider this is an unpaid job, it is a big commitment on not only their part but their families and employers as well."

The contribution employers make to the community is also recognised through the Employer Recognition Programme.

Dannevirke was one of several stations to trial the programme nationally, which Mr Finucane said had been quite successful.

"It is an opportunity for the fire service to acknowledge the employers.

"The members of the brigade are all volunteers and hold down day jobs and, when the siren goes, it is the employers who allow them to drop everything and leave so they can respond," he said.

"Without their support, we wouldn't be able to continue to provide a good level of service to the community so their contribution is extremely valuable."

A number of certificates were presented to employers at last week's ceremony. They were also given copies of the Fire Service logo which they can use on signs outside their business or on advertising material.

"It does cost businesses when a firefighter takes off out the door but, at the same time, having a volunteer on their staff gives them access to an employee who has additional training in first aid, leadership and operating machinery so there is some pluses for them."

Hawke's Bay Area assistant manager Nigel Hall said employers who helped and encouraged their staff in their volunteer work were helping to build a strong community.

"From our perspective, it is a wonderful thing and it sends a strong message to the community of their support," he said.

"We recently had a huge fire at Hawke's Bay Packaging and brigades from as faraway as Woodville responded.

"Everyone worked throughout the night but the firefighters still had to go to work the next day even though they were probably exhausted but we couldn't do our jobs without the support of employers."

Volunteer bars presented to:

Trevor Brieske, Craig Brown, Andrew Donaldson, Peter Fieraband, Mike Finucane, Rowan Huxford, Neville Jacobsen, Blair King, Peter Sinclair, Scott Walker and James Kendrick.

Volunteer Medals were presented to Hamish Adie, Mathew Donaldson, Jake Fletcher, Mike Franssen, Mike Green, Keith Harris, Justin Howell, George Jensen, Tracey Nikora, Daniel Sinclair, Nisan Stephens, Ashley Stuart, Brook Tohiariki, Nigel Willers and Alfred Witana.