Supporting North Canterbury's volunteer firefighters

Nicole Mathewson Reporter from Northern Outlook

After 36 years as a firefighter, Colin Russell still vividly remembers the first fatal incident he attended – for all the wrong reasons.

He was still a teenager, a fresh recruit as an urban officer in Dunedin, and was called out when a pedestrian was fatally struck by a car at a busy intersection. The scene was gruesome.

“[I] sort of put [myself] in his place – just walking along the street in town and then next thing boom.

“All those thoughts run through your head when you put yourself in his space and that's not where you want to go.”

Things were different in those days. Russell received little support and was told to brush it aside and enjoy a cup of tea after returning to the station.

Nowadays, Russell is the operational readiness and support manager for 16 volunteer brigades in the Hurunui and Kaikōura areas, overseeing about 300 people.

The role was formed in September following a national restructure at Fire and Emergency New Zealand (Fenz).

Russell said Fenz had recognised the need for welfare and support a few years ago, particularly after the Canterbury earthquakes.

“There are very good support systems in place [now].”

Russell, armed with a bachelor degree in psychology, could draw on his many experiences to help for the volunteers under his command.

Rural firefighters and those in small towns were often the most affected by trauma, as there were “only one or two degrees of separation” between them and the person they were helping, he said.

“[I’m] making sure they've got the support in the brigades, so they know they can reach out and get some help.”

After his start as an urban officer in Dunedin, Russell spent 25 years in Invercargill and became a manager. In 2011, he was called in to help with the response to the Canterbury earthquakes – the largest event he had ever had to cover.

“Just the scale of that – you're never going to forget that.”

Russell became an officer development manager in Rotorua, where he helped train of firefighters in incident management and leadership for three years.

“The great thing was you got to connect with the whole country ... it was really cool to put a finger out to all these little brigades and meet people.

He then began a managerial role in Christchurch, mainly working on forming policies, but he yearned to be in the community and helping frontline staff. He achieved that when he took on the role supporting the Hurunui and Kaikōura volunteers.

“[I was] doing some significant work in the big picture stuff, but you have to be careful to keep it balanced and remembering where you came from.”

In the little spare time Russell has, he can usually be found on the golf course or digging into his numerous studies.

It was important for firefighters to have hobbies to unwind from the pressures of the job, he said.

So far, he has completed a diploma in sports studies, a post graduate diploma in emergency management, a bachelor of psychology, and a few other management qualifications.

“I'm always in that learning mode. Study almost becomes a hobby, I always joke that I’ve spent 25 years at university,” he said.

“It's been a bit of a distraction as well because you get to focus on whatever you're learning at that particular time.”

Russell planned to do more study in the new year, but his key focus was returning to work and doing all he could to support the North Canterbury community and his firefighting “family”.

“Thirty-six years later I'm still here and loving it and not looking at doing anything different.

“You really feel a sense of worth that the job you're doing for the community fills that need ... there's purpose in abundance.”