Celebrating the 26 new firefighters who have joined our crew

Yesterday we congratulated 26 new recruits who graduated as firefighters at our National Training Centre in Rotorua. Among the graduates are a former Tall Fern, landscaper, tour guide, aircraft engineer and automotive engineer.

Ella Fotu represented New Zealand as a Tall Fern in 2019 and 2020, and had plans to play basketball professionally in Australia until COVID-19 cut those plans short.

Ella said, “Being a firefighter ticked a lot of boxes for me – a physical job, teamwork, helping others and being a positive role model, especially for Pacific girls. I’ve learnt a lot over the past three months of training, but the best part of the course has definitely been the people.”

Alex Schofield first thought about becoming a firefighter years ago. After a nine-year stint overseas, he returned but the desire hadn’t gone away.

“I wanted to be there for others the way firefighters helped me and my dad when he had a medical event. Firefighters were there for me and my family on my worst day and seeing what they did for us totally changed my perspective on my life. I wanted to do that for someone else.”

Former aircraft engineer Mark Johnstone felt the same way after a similar experience when emergency services helped him when he needed it.

“I was born and bred in Invercargill so I’m really looking forward to giving back to my community and putting my new skills into action alongside the team at Invercargill Station,” says Mark.

Craig de Blecourt was ready for a new challenge after 14 years as a landscaper.

“It allows me to help my community in lots of different ways and aligns with the values my whānau taught me growing up - to always help and give to those in need.”

Sam Sinclair is more than happy to be back in New Zealand serving his community after travelling and working in Asia and New Zealand as a tour guide.

“COVID-19 gave me the perfect excuse to try something new and meaningful. I’ve always wanted a job where I can give back to the community, and being a firefighter seemed like the perfect fit. Not just responding to emergencies, but also engaging with the community and teaching them how to be safe with fire,” he says.

The new firefighters demonstrated the skills they have learned over their 12 weeks of training to their family and friends, with a range of firefighting scenario exercises. The recruits were then presented with their yellow operational helmets to take back to the fire station - ready to use their new skills to help keep their communities safe.

Our 26 new recruits will now head to Auckland, Waikato, Wellington, Otago, Southland and Nelson/Tasman.