Honouring the brave – Fire Brigade awards
Frankton Station Officer Jamie Harris has been among the first to leap off the couch and race to the station when the pager goes off for the past 25 years, firstly with the Queenstown, then Frankton Volunteer Fire brigades.
Starting out initially as a volunteer in the industrial brigade at Mount Cook, Harris joined the Queenstown Brigade in 1998, transferring to Frankton about 2007-2008.
Then a hotel concierge, he now works at Queenstown Airport, just a short bike ride from the Douglas Street station if that siren goes off. Harris jokes that “the truck would’ve probably left the station some days” if he tried to drive.
In that time, he’s only missed 160 out of 1000 to 1100 Brigade training musters, the ninth in his brigade to receive a 25-year service medal.
Harris is best known though for his outstanding efforts at over 50 fundraising stair climbs in Australia, New Zealand and the USA– Auckland’s Sky Tower, the three big Australian climbs, four New York World Trade Centre climbs, Columbia, Seattle, and New Orleans.
He’s completed three half marathons in full kit – no mean feat, raising more than $100,000 for charity. He even received a special card and recognition from Leukaemia Blood Cancer NZ after his honours award recently.
Unable to get to Auckland to compete in the Sky Tower Stair Climb during the pandemic in 2020, Harris founded ‘March March’ here on Queenstown Hill. “It’s just a memorial walk to honour those who perished in 9/11 and the 60 Kiwi firefighters who’ve died over the years,” he says.
Harris’ 25-year contribution was among the countless hours of volunteer service and hard work honoured at the Combined Queenstown and Frankton Volunteer Fire Brigades’ Annual Honours Night recently, with almost 40 awards and honours dished out.
Among those awarded their Two-Year Gold Bar was Mike Skudder, now volunteering in brigade support but formerly a firefighter for many years, who’s notched up 43 years with the Frankton Volunteer Brigade.
A retired Queenstown Airport tower flight information officer, Skudder says it was kind of a given when he arrived in Queenstown in 1981 that he would step up for the brigade and into one of the two empty uniforms left by his two control tower predecessors.
Skudder was the secretary-treasurer for about 20 years and compiled a history of the Frankton Brigade for last year’s 50th anniversary.
There’s been a significant change to the type of call-outs officers attend in his time with First Responder training meaning they’re on the road to vehicle accidents and medical callouts as well. “So far this year we’ve done 212 callouts, but only 37 have involved fires,” he says.
Frankton’s Senior Station Officer Paul Halstead was also among those honoured with Long Service and Good Conduct Medals, along with Queenstown Station Officer Carla McLeod and Queenstown Senior Firefighter Chloe MacMillan-Wise.
