Some tough emergency calls have prompted a Māpua volunteer firefighter to boost morale in his brigade by writing a song honouring the team.
“We’ve had some really tough calls we’ve had to go out on recently,” says operational support member Bill Martin.
“I’m big on team building, so I wanted to do something that was team focused and also recognised the work we do.”
Bill, who has been with the brigade for seven years, says the crew is an “eclectic group of guys and girls” and he wanted to do something meaningful for them.
While he admits he’s not musically inclined, Bill enlisted the help of his brother Mick, a bush poet in Australia, to write the tribute. Mick converted the poem into a song, which was played at the brigade’s honours night last month.
Bill asked chief Aaron Thawley for five minutes before the ceremony began, then simply hit play.
The six-minute song mentions every brigade member, with a few singled out for their unique contributions.
“Like Matt the wood chopper guy. He flies under the radar. He’s just the most amazing guy that would do anything for anyone,” Bill says.
“It’s like, everyone here is the same as everyone at home. We’ve got relationships, we’re balancing kids and teenagers and finances and work, and then we down tools and come and do this… I wanted him to know that we appreciated what he did.”
Another member, Mike, gets a nod for the “eclectic collection of cars and motorbikes” in his garage.
The brigade currently has 17 members and hopes to grow to 20. Bill says he hoped the song might also encourage some new recruits.
“I was hoping that part of introducing the song might also be something that might encourage new people to come on board and sort of say ‘you know what, it sounds fun’.”
Chief Aaron says the song was good for a laugh and put a smile on everyone’s face.
Bill says a couple of the team have even added it to their playlists.
“If they think enough of it to do that, then that’s cool. Job done.”
The brigade is right behind Bill too, with members saying he goes above and beyond for his community.
He has recently completed more than 50 home safety visits across the community, a free service offered by the brigade.
“He’s done this off his own back, using his own vehicle, in his own time. He’s really gone above and beyond,” a brigade member told Nelson App.
