“I didn’t think 25 years later I would still be in FENZ.”
Stoke Volunteer Fire Brigade chief fire officer Lance Williams has been rushing to the scene for an impressive quarter of a century.
He says he has been fuelled by whānau and friends’ support and a burning desire to inspire the next generation of firefighters.
Lance first suited up with the Greymouth Volunteer Fire Brigade in 1999 after a rugby mate invited him to the station to see if an interest in joining could be sparked.
That spark lasted in Greymouth for about 10 years, which included attending a couple of emergencies that have been marked in his memory.
“[In the early 2000s] there was a diesel tanker that rolled over the other side of Kumara which closed the state highway.
“We didn’t know the seriousness of the fuel that was leaking [when we got there],” he says.
“We were there pretty much all day on that Friday and Saturday where we were cleaning up.
“Then [in 2003] we had a fatal house fire across the road from the Union Hotel, which is one I also reflect on.
“It was a usual house fire but being a fatality, it brings home the seriousness of what we do,” he says.
Lance says one of the comrades he fought that fire with was Jason Prendergast, who is the current United Fire Brigades Association board director. He is also the one who laurelled Lance with his 25-year Gold Star on 29 June.
“[Fire and Emergency New Zealand] is a big beast, and it’s not just about one person, it’s what we all do collectively,” he says.
“All my mates have been really supportive and proactive in what I do.”
After relocating to Nelson in 2009, Lance rose through the firefighting ranks while serving at the Nelson composite fire station.
He then transferred to Stoke in 2017, where he is in his sixth year as its chief following a one-year stint as its deputy chief.
His hot topics have also included recruiting new firies, which comes naturally to Lance, having also trained army recruits in the South Island for nearly four decades.
Lance, who is also an area manager at Nelson Petroleum Distributors, has no plans to extinguish his FENZ service anytime soon.
“I’m hugely proud of the achievement I’ve got to so far,” he says.
“I didn’t think 25 years later I would still be in FENZ. I’ll keep on with what I’m doing, being there for the community as long as I can.”
