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A proud moment for Gary Aitken, wife Madalene and son Peter.
Two firefighters from the Warkworth Volunteer Fire Brigade made NZ fire service history on Saturday March 5.
At a special function held at the fire station, former fire chief Gary Aiken and his son Peter both received awards for service on the same night – Gary for 50 years and Peter for 25 years.
Waitemata Fire Area chief fire officer Graeme Booth said it was the first time a father and son had ever received these medals on the same night.
He said that in Peter’s case, fewer than 10 per cent of firefighters achieved 25 years service. Gary’s achievement was even rarer – only 140 50-year medals had been awarded in the fire service’s 136-year history.
Guests at the evening included fire service dignitaries, as well as current and former colleagues, and family and friends from throughout NZ, Australia and England. MC for the evening was current fire chief Ian Davies.
Family commitment
Responding to the fire siren has been a tradition for the Aitken family for three generations.
Gary’s father, Peter Aiken Snr, was a founder of the Opunake Fire Brigade and received his Gold Star in March 1945. Gary joined the Opunake service in January 1966, transferring to Warkworth when the family moved north in 1970.
Several speakers paid tribute to his contribution to the firefighter competitions, which he was involved in at a local, provincial and national level.
Son Peter joined Warkworth in December 1985 when he was still at school. After Warkworth, he spent two years as a firefighter with the NZ Air Force before becoming a career firefighter in Auckland. He is now based at Balmoral.
Both Gary and Peter thanked their families for the “nights of disturbed sleep and the family occasions that we couldn’t attend”.
Gary recalled some of the larger fires he had attended including the Rodney Motors fire in 1976, a fire at Morris & James Pottery, the Warkworth Hire Centre and the dairy factory at Te Hana.
On a lighter note, he said that on one occasion the brigade attended a traffic accident near the Satellite Station turnoff, involving a truckload of coffins.
“We cleaned them all up and were heading back to the station when we realised one of the crew wasn’t on board,” Gary said. “On closer inspection, we found him lying in one of the coffins on the roadside, slowly sitting up and lying down, and waving to the cars.”
NZ Fire Service Commission deputy chair David McFarlane summed up the evening when he said that the contribution that volunteers made to communities, not just in Warkworth, but throughout New Zealand, was sometimes overlooked.
“It is appropriate on occasions such as this to say ‘thank you’ for the huge and valued contribution made by volunteers and to let them know how much they are appreciated,” he said.
