Fire and Emergency NZ – King’s Birthday Honours recipients recognised

Fire and Emergency New Zealand volunteers and staff from Wānaka, Auckland, Rongotea, Te Awamutu, Bulls, Kerikeri, Taihape and Te Puke were presented with their Royal Honours by Governor General Dame Cindy Kiro at Government House in Wellington today.

“These eight recipients have dedicated years of their time to supporting their communities to become stronger, safer, and more resilient through their roles as volunteers for Fire and Emergency, and through all their other community contributions. It is wonderful to see their efforts recognised today,” says Fire and Emergency Board Chair Rebecca Keoghan.

“On behalf of Fire and Emergency and the people of Aotearoa New Zealand, we wish to thank you for your outstanding service – your communities are richer for your work.”

Mr Ralph Fegan has volunteered in the Wānaka and West Coast communities since 1973 in a range of capacities.

Mr Fegan volunteered with Franz Josef Volunteer Fire Brigade for 22 years before joining the Wānaka Brigade, where he has served 17 years. He was Chief Fire Officer in Franz Josef from 1977 to 1996, initiating the formation of a Rural Fire Party, and has been Secretary since 2013 at the Wānaka Brigade. He has been involved with the United Fire Brigade Association as President of the Central Otago Fire Brigades Sub-Association from 2021 to 2023 and became Senior Vice President of the Otago/Southland Gold Star Association in 2023. He contributed to the tourism industry from the 1970s and was Chairman of Lake Wānaka Tourism for two years, Westland Promotion Board for three years, and four years each with West Coast Tourism Development and West Coast Tourism Council. He was Director of the South Island Promotion Association from 1987 to 1994. He has volunteered with a range of other organisations including the New Zealand Fighter Pilots’ Foundation Trust, Wānaka Airport, Upper Clutha RSA, Wānaka A&P Show and Food for Love. Mr Fegan was previously a Westland District Councillor from 1989 to 1995 and a civil defence controller for Franz Josef from 1979 to 1995.

– Westland District Council, Person of the Year, 1996

– New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal

Mr Glenn Teal has been Chief Fire Officer of the Auckland Operational Support Unit (OSU) since 2010, having joined the preceding Auckland Volunteer Fire Police Corps in 1979.

The Auckland Operational Support Unit (OSU) comprises 60 volunteer members and provides 24/7 support to Fire and Emergency New Zealand personnel and other emergency services across Auckland. Mr Teal’s leadership has ensured the seamless operation of the unit across the wide and diverse Super City region. He helped formulate Fire and Emergency’s first comprehensive basic training and progression system for Operational Support personnel in 2011, still in use today. He was on the committee which instigated a national standard for Fire and Emergency’s Operational Support personnel apparel. He established an Observer Programme to drive recruitment, introducing potential recruits to the unit’s in-field activities. He led projects to upgrade the unit’s stand-alone radio network, refurbish OSU premises, and replace brigade vehicles in 2023. He mobilised OSU resources to directly assist following the 2010 Christchurch earthquake and during the 2019 Marlborough wildfires. He oversaw measures to ensure the Auckland OSU could continue to provide full support during the COVID-19 pandemic. Mr Teal has applied his property and investment expertise in voluntary and professional capacities to charities, including the Auckland Baptist Tabernacle Trust Board for 36 years and Laidlaw College Foundation for 18 years.

– Inaugural Regional Commander’s Award for Outstanding Contribution, 1999

Mr Lance Berry has been contributing to the Rongotea community for more than 40 years.

Mr Berry’s service to the Rongotea Fire Brigade has spanned more than 37 years and he currently holds the position of Deputy Fire Chief. Through the Fire Brigade he guided the expansion of the station to allow hosting of family friendly activities and established the Rongotea fireworks display which attracts more than 5,000 people annually. He has been a leader in both Te Kawau Cubs and Te Kawau Scouts, leading the delegation from Te Kawau to the Te Anau jamboree in 1996, and established the tradition of both cubs and scouts marching in the annual Rongotea ANZAC parade. He was influential in the build and management of the Te Kawau Memorial Centre in 1996 and has continued to provide maintenance to the roofing structure since. He has been the Chair of the Rongotea Community Committee since 2019, having been a member for several years, and led several community projects including the upgrade of The Douglas Square and the Waitohi Road walkway through the Keep Rongotea Beautiful campaign. Mr Berry was awarded a Manawatū District Council Community Award in 2023 for his contributions to the Rongotea community.

Mr Ian Campbell has been a member of the Te Awamutu Volunteer Fire Brigade since 1982 and Te Awamutu Taekwon-Do Club for 27 years.

Mr Campbell held officer ranks and managed brigade training and development for 15 years. He has been Chief Fire Office of the brigade since 2007, overseeing the busiest volunteer brigade in the Waikato region with more than 400 callouts annually and more than 40 volunteer members. He has worked to transition the brigade to become more modern and dynamic and formalised volunteer pathways within the brigade, developing a safety-culture based ethos for officers and practicing manaaki. He led the fundraising of $54,000 for the purchase of hydraulic rescue equipment in 2009 and $41,000 for a new emergency response vehicle in 2016. In 2014, he led a team to negotiate a memorandum of understanding with St John to assist with medical emergencies with a purpose-built vehicle. He chaired centennial celebrations of the brigade in 2013, which included events and station enhancements. He progressed to become head instructor of Te Awamutu Taekwon-Do Club and has grown the club to offer further self-defence training, senior training, black belt camps, sparring and seminars. He is one of 13 7th Dan masters in New Zealand. Mr Campbell has had two students compete internationally and multiple achieve placings nationally.

Mr Brian Carter has served with the Bulls Volunteer Fire Brigade since 1970 and is the first member of this brigade to reach 50 years’ service.

Mr Carter served a brief period with the Marton Volunteer Fire Brigade in the late 1970s, before returning to Bulls in 1980. He progressed through the ranks at the Bulls Brigade, reaching Deputy Chief Fire Office in 1991 and has been Chief Fire Officer since 2006. He has led the brigade through regular call outs and several regional disasters, while working as a self-employed craftsman upholster. He was elected Parent Representative on the Clifton School Board of Trustees for three terms between 1991 and 2000. He was re-elected for a second term as Councillor for the Southern Ward on the Rangitikei District Council in 2022, having first been elected in 2019. Mr Carter has served the local community as a Justice of the Peace since 2016.

Mr Greg Imms has been a member of the Kerikeri Volunteer Fire Brigade since 1968 and rose through the ranks to become 3rd Officer.

Over more than 50 years of service Mr Imms has had a 92 percent attendance rate at callouts. From 2008 to 2013 he was Acting Deputy Chief Fire Officer, helping guide the Brigade during a transitional period. He continues in the role of Operational Support and remains actively involved in running the Brigade and attending callouts. In his early years of service he gave his time to help build the Brigade through the acquisition of second hand equipment. He has been made an Honorary Life Member of the Brigade. Mr Imms has also supported St John Ambulance in Kerikeri, helping with difficult patient extrications at crash sites and resuscitations for cardiac arrest ambulance callouts.

Mr Rob Webb has been involved in community initiatives in the Taihape community for several decades.

Mr Webb has volunteered with the Taihape Volunteer Fire Brigade since 1970, was Deputy Chief Fire Officer for 19 years and continues as Operational Support and a Life Member. He was a Taihape Borough Councillor for two terms and served as Chairman on the Taihape Community Board for two terms in the early 1980s. He has been President of the Taihape RSA from 1999 to 2018, playing a key role in the town’s ANZAC commemorations. He has played the bugle at ANZAC Dawn Services for 55 years. He was on the Boards of Trustees for Taihape Primary School and Taihape College in the 1990s, taught brass band music to college students following the retirement of the music teacher, and coached college rugby from 1992 to 1995. He has been a Pirates Rugby Club committee member and a long-term member of Taihape Musicians Club. He has held roles in St Margaret’s Anglican Church as a vestry member, lay reader and Synod representative. Mr Webb has been a marriage celebrant since 1995, was appointed as a Justice of the Peace in 2004 and has worked in the Taihape District Court as a Bailiff and Clerk for more than 20 years.

Mr Glenn Williams served with the Mount Maunganui Volunteer Fire Brigade from 1981 to 1993 and since 1993 with Te Puke Volunteer Fire Brigade.

Mr Williams has been Chief Fire Officer of Te Puke Brigade since 2006 and is a Life Member. He provided insight from the volunteer perspective as an Integration Advisor for the transition from the New Zealand Fire Service to Fire and Emergency New Zealand from 2018 to 2020. He was appointed to the Safety Health and Wellbeing Project Team during the transition. He became a Director of the United Fire Brigades Association (UFBA) in 2011, attaining several leadership roles until being appointed President in 2018 and subsequently a Life Member in 2019. He was engaged with the UFBA’s involvement in the development and consultation phases of the Fire and Emergency New Zealand Act, helping shape the framework. His attendance at Te Puke Brigade call outs and training musters has remained high, despite his additional commitments to UFBA and Fire and Emergency. He was a member of the New Zealand Fire Service Regional Operating Committee from 2006 to 2013. He was a Trustee of Leukaemia and Blood Cancer New Zealand from 2016 to 2019, contributing to strategic decision making and fundraising. Mr Williams led a committee to fundraise $50,000 for Te Puke High School in 2009.