Selfless citizen honoured

For Sharon Reeves, being involved with the fire brigade has been a family affair.

Mrs Reeves (50) was recently presented with a 25-year service gold medal, acknowledging her dedication to the Omarama Fire Brigade.

Her husband, Steve, has served as the brigade's deputy chief fire officer and her 20-year-old twin sons, Shane and Daniel, are both members, while her sister, Tania Leopold, is involved with the Otematata Fire Brigade.

Mr Reeves' daughter, Coralie, and her husband, Michael Cowie, are involved with the Dobson brigade on the West Coast, while Mr Cowie's father, Maurice Cowie, has been involved with the Omarama brigade for 40 years.

"Everyone just really loves it. It's in the blood," she said this week.

Mr and Mrs Reeves, who have shifted to the North Island and are at present living at Paekakariki, near Wellington, hope to get involved with a new brigade.

Mrs Reeves joined the Omarama brigade because she wanted to help the community.

The brigade was much stronger in the 1980s, she said. Now it was was down to about 11 members.

Asked about the highlights of her involvement, Mrs Reeves said she enjoyed working alongside her fellow firefighters and achieving good outcomes at fires made it all worthwhile.

The worst part was dealing with families coping with tragedy - particularly people she knew - but once back at the station, "everyone pulls in tight, becomes one and talks about it".

The Reeves were also part of the co-response team, which provided first-response medical assistance.

With both involved with the brigade, she believed it had brought them a lot closer together.

In 2008, the couple were recipients of Waitaki Citizens Awards, which are presented annually to people who have made a significant contribution to the wellbeing of the district and its citizens.

Mr Reeves moved north six months ago for work reasons, while Mrs Reeves has been commuting between Omarama and Wellington.

She said she missed Omarama and the brigade "terribly".

"The brigade and everyone in it, I hold very dear - all of them."

Waitaki district councillor Craig Dawson, who represents the Ahuriri ward, praised Mrs Reeves' dedication to the community, saying it took an "enormous" amount of selflessness to be a member of the fire brigade for such a long time.