Otaki TodayŌtaki fire chief Ian King was driven into the local station with wife Heather in one of the brigade’s old engines on April 5 for a gathering to mark his 50 years as a firefighter.
His passion goes a long way back. As a student at Ōtaki College he would rush from class and jump in his Morris Minor when the fire siren sounded. He wasn’t motivated by a fascination with fires that many youngsters had; rather he wanted to be in the thick of it, a fireman doing the work to save life and property.
His enthusiasm was rewarded with him being enlisted to help the Ōtaki Volunteer Fire Brigade’s competition team, rolling up hoses and operating the pump. He watched and learned.
On July 17, 1972, and while still at college, he became a full member of the brigade – and with his eyes on the prize – fire chief of the Ōtaki brigade.
He had to wait a few years for that, and like many of his era, he also wanted to experience the world outside his home town. His brother, Bryan, was working with Contiki taking tourists by bus around Europe, so for 18 months Ian joined him, operating out of London.
If Ian had stayed in Ōtaki he would without question have remained as a firefighter, and his 50 years of service would now have been 53. But he has no regrets.
“Not at all,” he says. “I had some of the best experiences of my life. I would have missed that if I stayed home.”
Ōtaki fire chief Ian King sits on the back of the local brigade’s 1940 fire truck with wife Heather and piper Phil Cowan. Phil piped Ian and his family into the fire station with a guard of honour that included local firefighters, those from other brigades and senior staff from Fire and Emergency NZ. Photo Otaki Today
Ian fulfilled his dream of being chief fire officer at Ōtaki in 1997, a position he still holds today at the age of 68. With more than 27 years in charge, he’s the longest-serving Ōtaki fire chief, pipping Pat Sharp’s 26 years from 1942-68.
His fires service involvement has not been just in Ōtaki. He was accepted into the City of Wellington Fire Brigade on his 18th birthday. At only 19 he passed the graduate Institute of Fire Engineers UK exam, being possibly the youngest ever person worldwide to pass. He went on to become a full member of IFE, and a fellow of the NZ Fire Brigades Institute.
1n 1985 he was awarded a Commonwealth Fire Engineering scholarship, which saw him travel to the UK for two months to study with fire brigades in London, West Yorkshire, Cheshire and Norfolk. His report was instrumental in making big changes to the equipment and procedures used by the Fire Service in New Zealand.
In 1986 Ian was promoted to station officer, and transferred to Palmerston North. After a brief stint back in Wellington in 1991 as senior station officer, Ian returned to Palmerston North as senior station officer, a position he held for the next 27 years.
During this period he was part of a small national team setting up a computerised station management system. He also did stints as assistant commander in both Palmerston North and Whanganui, and also spent more than 23 years as a member of the Region 3, Manawatū/Whanganui critical incident stress/peer support team that counselled and supported firefighters after disturbing incidents.
Ian is an accredited international judge for the Australasian Road Rescue Organisation.
Ian retired from his professional career on his 65th birthday, in August 2021. He was made a life honorary member of the Palmerston North Fire Brigade for his leadership – an honour he received at Ōtaki in 2000.
In his career, Ian has become one of New Zealand’s most respected fire officers, using his passion for the job to help others and making the Ōtaki brigade one of which he can be proud.
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