“It’s a pretty special milestone ticked off, but it’s not a big deal”.
That’s what humble fireman Dick Lyall says of reaching 50 years with the fire service.
Dick has responded to thousands of callouts, including to one of the country’s largest blazes and several “worst nightmare” ship fires.
The former Nelson Fire Station career firefighter received the Double Gold Star on 10 February for serving five decades with Fire and Emergency New Zealand (FENZ).
Dick says, an elderly woman who died in a house fire on the same street as his sparked his interest to volunteer with the local Stoke brigade in 1973.
After being put through his firefighting paces, he transferred to Nelson in 1978 where he began his 44-year service as a career firefighter.
“There’s shift work, which is something some people don’t realise about firefighters, and how much time it takes up,” he says.
“You couldn’t be there every year to play rugby … your friends go out on a Saturday night and you’re working, so the shift work interferes with your social and family life, but you learn to live with it.
“Saving a life or someone’s property is a highlight and some of the guys and girls I’ve worked with are excellent people.”
Dick says the Hira fire in 1981, which burned 1972 hectares close to Nelson City, was one of the more memorable events during his career.
“It took everything out in between … the horror of the fire and the sheer ferocity of the fire, it created a firestorm, as it was creating a draught up the Maitai Valley in the opposite direction to where the wind was blowing,” he says.
“There was a shortage of helicopters in those days, I think we had about five or six helicopters that were available and there was a lot of manpower and slog put into that fire.
“I think I did five days and nights without going home.”
Dick has also battled “dozens” of ship fires off the Nelson coast, including some which were fatal.
“Ship fires are firefighters’ worst nightmare … the lack of visibility, the ship can sink on you, the ship could roll over,” he says.
“A lot of the ships were from overseas like Taiwan and Korea, we used all our own gear because there’s stuff on ships that we don’t know what standard it is to … we had to drag hoses through all the passageways, it could be a nightmare.”
Dick now splits his time between Nelson and Okiwi Bay where he volunteers as the chief fire officer of the 10-member rural fire force.
“It’s a pretty special milestone ticked off, it’s not a big deal, you don’t do anything special, you just hang around long enough,” he says.
