Clyde Station Officer Tim Paulin received his 25-year service award earlier this month.
Chief Fire Officer Steve Gee said Mr Paulin was the 13th member of the Clyde brigade to receive the star and, like the 12 before him, had been with the Clyde brigade all that time, he said.
"Tim has evolved into a very effective and conscientious station officer. He consistently leads by example and is a healthy advocate for physical and mental wellbeing within the brigade and beyond. With a long family history in the community, he proudly protects that community and is fully immersed in it."
"I wasn’t keen on Meals on Wheels but my rugby coach was in the fire brigade."
He went along to a Monday night training session and 25 years later was still going along.
"They had chicken and beer after training and I thought it was pretty good."
Everyone had their strengths in the service and could use whatever talents they had, he said.
Medical callouts were something that had increased over the years and while all were trained to treat patients when needed, some had a particular gift of helping with the family of the person having a medical event.
They could be difficult situations, especially when a life could not be saved.
Mr Paulin paid tribute to his wife Tisha, who is a nurse, saying she helped him deal with the aftermath of events.
"You need that strength at home away from the fire brigade."
As well as going to car crashes, fires and medical callouts, Mr Paulin has spent a lot of time training for and competing in firefighters’ competitions.
The Sky Tower Challenge, an annual fundraiser for Leukaemia and Blood Cancer New Zealand, has been conquered eight times by Mr Paulin in full 25kg fire fighting kit. He competed in the Man of Steel section, which takes contestants 10 more floors up the tower than the general race.
"It’s not really about the position you finish in, it’s about fundraising. But you try to beat your own time or stay in that zone especially as you get older. You’re competing against yourself."
This year Mr Paulin finished 25th out of a field of 103 and fourth in his age group.
The challenge always came as the cherry orchard owners finished the fruit season and had worked, usually without a day off, from early December until February, he said.
It wasn’t great timing and restricted the effort he could put in but he had family members and friends who had been affected by cancer and wanted to help the cause.
As he was putting his cylinder on his back at one of the challenges he received a phone call from a close friend saying the friend had terminal cancer, Mr Paulin said.
"It’s one thing you can do to help. You only have to get yourself healthier to help others do that, too."
Clyde firefighters had raised more than $20,000 for blood cancer with their fundraising for the event, he said.
He was keen to develop a new challenge between the Central Otago fire brigades.
Earlier this year, a group of 17 Central Otago firefighters walked 17km along the Lake Dunstan cycle trail, fully kitted up and carrying an oxygen tank, in relay between them. Hopefully, it would become an annual event, he said.
There was a strong social side to volunteer fire brigades and he ran the canteen in Clyde for 15 years.
It was a real mix of people from the community and a great way to get to know people you might not otherwise meet, he said.
