In 2014 — after building a house directly across from the fire station in Pukerau — Mr Harvey was encouraged by his brother, who was already a firefighter with the Gore brigade, to consider volunteering.
More than a decade later, Mr Harvey is now Chief Fire Officer of the Pukerau Volunteer Fire Brigade.
“You meet people, meet families and become part of the wider community pretty quickly,” Mr Harvey said.
That sense of local connection remains one of the defining strengths of volunteer fire brigades throughout rural New Zealand.
Across the country, nearly 12,000 volunteers currently give their time to respond to emergencies, attend training and help communities during some of their most difficult moments.
“You’re there to help somebody quite possibly on the worst day of the week for them,” Mr Harvey said.
Pukerau brigade members attend a wide range of callouts each year including motor vehicle accidents, medical events, vegetation fires and rural incidents.
The brigade averages between 25-30 callouts annually.
Mr Harvey noted that maintaining volunteer numbers around the clock was essential, particularly during weekdays when many members were balancing full-time work commitments.
During the day, Mr Harvey works in the water treatment industry, helping oversee projects around the country.
That balance between employment and volunteering relies heavily on understanding employers, he said.
“It can’t be underestimated how valuable that support is from employers who allow volunteers to respond during the day.”
Training within Fire and Emergency allows volunteers to progress at their own pace.
New recruits complete an initial probationary period before working through practical and theoretical training, including a seven-day recruit course.
From there, firefighters can continue advancing through operational ranks and specialist leadership training if they choose.
One of the biggest surprises for many recruits was the variety of skills gained along the way, Mr Harvey said.
“There’s the first aid side of things, the rescue training, learning to think on your feet and make decisions in emergency situations,” he said.
“Everyone that you talk to that’s been through it knows it’s a great thing to do, and the skill sets you get out of it are something that you can’t get anywhere else.”
The brigade also offers opportunities beyond frontline firefighting.
Operational support roles, traffic management, administration and community assistance all play an important role in keeping volunteer brigades functioning.
“There’s lots of different ways people can help out,” Mr Harvey said.
“People don’t always have a great understanding of what we do in the community, and that it can be as much as helping out with paperwork. We’ve had people come in and take care of the lawns over the Christmas break, just to help out the brigade.”
Mr Harvey believed modern life had become increasingly busy, particularly for younger generations balancing work, sport and family commitments. However, he said many still underestimated how rewarding volunteering could be.
At present, Pukerau brigade has 10 firefighters and three recruits progressing through training together, which helped build confidence and camaraderie for new members, Mr Harvey said.
For anyone considering volunteering, his advice was simple.
“Get hold of your local brigade and go down to a training night. We train on a Wednesday night at 7pm and anybody is welcome just to rock on up and we’ll take you on board and show you around,” he said.
“If you’ve even got a wee inkling it might be for you, go and have a look.”
