Ashburton volunteer fireman Mark Ellis has received his gold star for serving 25 years with the fire service.
It was presented to the Rakaia School principal at the Ashburton Fire Station in front of his family including wife Dulce, goddaughter and grandchildren, peers from the Ashburton Volunteer Fire Brigade and Fire and Emergency New Zealand.
Ellis, who has served in the rural and urban services, said it was a ‘‘very humbling and moving’’ experience.
‘‘It was lovely to involve the family, and humbling to receive the accolades and the awards from the brigade, the region, Fire and Emergency New Zealand, the Gold Star Association and all sorts,’’ he said.
‘‘I couldn’t have done what I have done without my family, and my wife, who have been supportive,’’ he said, of his firefighting and personal challenges.
Among them was co-organising a firefighter combat challenge for nearly 10 years with Warren Maslin, fundraisers for blood cancer with the Firefighter Sky Tower Challenge six times, Movember mental health 60km treadmill walk, and donning the uniform for competitions and fundraisers in Australia.
‘‘I think with service comes sacrifice, and that’s not easy on families, but they acknowledge the families as well and that’s vitally important.
‘‘We can’t do it without our employers letting us go.
‘‘Fire and Emergency are indebted to the employers who let their people go when the siren goes.’’
Ellis was grateful to the community and his fellow firefighters who had helped shape him into the man he was today.
‘‘A huge thank you to the community, Ashburton and Rakaia fire brigades and those early days rural brigades.
‘‘They’ve all added to my experience and made me who I am.
‘‘I’m still at heart a husband, a dad, a grand dad, a friend an uncle, all those sort of things.
‘‘Fire is a wonderful part of my life because I get to serve and that’s what I’m about, that’s my true north,’’ Ellis said.
Ellis started his firefighting in the late 1990s when he took over as principal of Mayfield School.
He and Dulce were living in the village.
‘‘The siren went off, and my wife and I thought it was World War III. We had no idea what it was,’’ he said.
‘‘Then I learned that the previous principal, Brent Rees was a fireman, so I put my name down and joined. That was the start of my rural service in 1999.’’
Ellis remained principal at the school, but the couple moved back to Ashburton in 2003 and he joined the Ashburton rural brigade.
‘‘I had applied to get into Ashburton fire but they had a waiting list,’’ he said.
‘‘It took about five years, so in between, about 2006, I joined the Rakaia brigade when I started (at Rakaia School).’’
He was in the Rakaia brigade for two years before he got into Ashburton.
But he has also continued to serve for 18 years with the Rakaia brigade as well as Ashburton.
The role of a firefighter had changed from attending mostly property and vegetation fires to including car accidents and medical events.
Some of these were confronting, Ellis said.
‘‘I think profoundly, and I made mention of it in my speech, that we’ve got to become more aware of the effect it can have on people,’’ he said.
‘‘We see some things that people just don’t see, and do things that people just don’t do.
‘‘You know, CPR on a pretty normal basis and that can be on old people, young people and children. Those things sit with you and I was upfront with the fact that isn’t always easy to deal with,’’ he said.
‘‘But Fire and Emergency New Zealand have wonderful supports in place for their people and I’ve taken advantage of that to look after myself,’’ he said.
He said firefighting was a role he was honoured to do as a way to help people, but he could not do without the valued support of Dulce, and the school community.
‘‘Sometimes you are lucky enough that you get a ‘Thank you’ back. People see you and thank you,’’ he said.
‘‘In particular car accidents where you’ve helped people … I’ve had a couple of those people visit me.’’
