Half a century of fighting flames for Nelson firefighter

A Nelson firefighter has been recognised for his half-a-century of service in the region.

Firefighter Kevin Shea is celebrating 50 years in the fire service. Shea worked as a paid firefighter for 44 years, before starting as a volunteer with the Stoke Volunteer Fire Brigade in 2016.

Shea said he started working as a firefighter in 1972, when he was 21. The Nelson Fire Station’s shift system had changed, leaving them short 12 positions.

“I applied and I got one.”

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In his 50 years, Shea said he attended “a few good fires.” The worst of them was in the 1980s, when the Korean trawler vessel Tae Chang caught alight while berthed at Port Nelson.

The vessel’s cargo hold had been filled with cardboard. The fire took three days to put out, and required holes to be drilled in the hull.

By the end of it, Shea said he was in hospital for heat exhaustion.

Another fire that was a stand-out was when the Majestic Theatre burnt down in 1996. Initially, the firefighters thought the building that had caught alight was Boots Backpackers. When they left the station they could see the glow in the sky from the building’s flames.

Back then, firefighters wore plastic helmets without neck flaps, Shea said. Over his time with the fire service, one of the biggest upgrades was to his gear, he said.

However, an important safety feature and warning sign had sadly been lost with his helmet’s upgrade, Shea joked.

“When the backs of your ears burned, it was time to leave.”

Firefighters now had to be more technically aware of what the fire was doing, and to keep watch on the physical signs.

Shea trained volunteers at the Nelson Fire Station for close to 40 years, and despite not coming from a teaching background, he also became an NZQA assessor.

In 2016, Shea retired from being a paid staff member of the Nelson Fire Station. He started working as a volunteer with Stoke Volunteer Fire Brigade a few months later.

“I thought I still had something to offer.”

Shea said the culture was “completely different” in working as a volunteer versus as a paid firefighter.

Previously, he would work two day shifts, then two night shifts, then have four days off. Now, as a volunteer, Shea could be paged at any time of the day.

This took some getting used to, he said. As the station’s roster could be light during the day, it was important he stayed in the Stoke area.

Unfortunately, Murphy’s Law meant that, when Shea stayed in Stoke, nothing would happen, he joked.

Shea said one of the most important things he had learned during the course of his career was to function as part of a team.

“There’s no room for individuals in a firefighter group.”