Firefighter's first 25 years celebrated

Wanaka electrician Tony Wellman's 25 years of service to the Wanaka Volunteer Fire Brigade will...
Wanaka electrician Tony Wellman's 25 years of service to the Wanaka Volunteer Fire Brigade will be recognised tomorrow. Photo by Jessica Maddock.
Wanaka volunteer firefighter Tony Wellman's constant service since 1990 will be recognised at a function in Wanaka tomorrow night when he is awarded a gold star.

Wanaka reporter Jessica Maddock caught up with him this week.

A second generation of Wellmans is joining the Wanaka Volunteer Fire Brigade.

As Tony Wellman chalks up a quarter of a century as a volunteer firefighter, his 21 year old son, Jarrod, is training to join the brigade.

Mr Wellman said passion for the job was needed to last 25 years.

''And it's a community thing. It's a good thing for the community.''

And, in return, the volunteers make great mates.

''But most of them have disappeared now and left me behind,'' Mr Wellman said.

''But the newbies are really good.''

He was 26 when he joined, after spending two years on the waiting list.

''Back in those days, nobody seemed to leave. These days, it's more transient.''

When he is not fighting fires or attending medical emergencies - a growing part of the Wanaka brigade's job - Mr Wellman is an electrician with his own business which also employs his son.

Juggling the two jobs has got easier in recent years, with the brigade now having a duty roster.

Volunteers are on call one week in every four, although anyone who is nearby will attend when the siren sounds.

While on call, they are expected to be in the vicinity and ready to respond, whereas ''back in the day'' they could have been called at any time and they never knew who else was going to turn up, Mr Wellman said. They also train once a week.

''There's definitely a reasonable commitment to it.''

The Wanaka brigade has an adequate number of volunteers at present _ 32, and more in training.

Two of them are women, plus two female trainees.

''They bring different skills.''

The brigade is called out about 150 times a year, to car crashes, house fires, scrub fires and a growing number of medical emergencies, as they are increasingly required to provide support to ambulance officers.

They all deal with distressing situations differently and, unlike during Mr Wellman's earlier days in the brigade, they can seek help from Victim Support.

''You don't think about it at the time. It's the kind of thing you probably have an ''oh s...''

moment before you turn up, then you treat it as a job and have a quiet drink afterwards and talk it over with everyone to make sure everyone's in good heart.''

But it was always a risk in a small community that volunteers would know the victim.

Bush fires in summer posed the greatest threat in the Upper Clutha and were the most demanding on volunteers' time.

''Bush fires are one of our highest risks, where we're probably going to lose a life because people don't realise how fast they go, whereas a house fire is contained within that area.''

Car crashes, particularly on winter mornings and late afternoon when skifield traffic was on the roads, also kept volunteers busy.

Incidents which have stuck in Mr Wellman's mind include the crash which ultimately killed rally car driver Possum Bourne, as he familiarised himself with the Snow Farm access road at Cardrona in preparation for the 2003 Race to the Sky event.

Another was a scrub fire at Dublin Bay near Wanaka in the mid '90s.

''We just had to steer it towards the lake.''

There are several other long serving members of the Wanaka brigade, including Ken McKenzie, who will mark four decades next year.

The current chief fire officer Bruno Galloway, Garth Campbell, Dean Westall, Gerry Haggart, Ralph Fegan and Davey Little have given between 27 and 34 years.

By Jessica Maddock. 

 

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