Retired chief back as 'vollie'

The firefighting career of Bill Butzbach has gone full circle after the one-time national commander joined the brigade in Martinborough as a volunteer.

The 54-year-old first signed on as a "vollie" in Kawerau in 1976, he said, and over his 38 years as a professional firefighter had risen to executive management roles in the corporate and uniform branches of the Fire Service.

In 2011 he served briefly as national commander and acting chief executive and retired in November as assistant national commander and director of strategic development, which were posts he had long held.

He had earlier in his career served as regional commander of Arapawa, one of the largest fire districts in the country that comprises the top of the South Island and greater Wellington, including Wairarapa.

It was during that posting he first "discovered Martinborough and the Wairarapa", he said.

"I used to particularly enjoy heading over there and meeting up with the brigade in Martinborough. It's a special province, especially in the way the local brigades work together - they're pretty tight - and I thought, 'Aw man, I could live out here'."

Several years ago he and wife Kate bought a property in Martinborough and in November Mr Butzbach resigned from the NZ Fire Service.

In December he signed on as a volunteer firefighter in the town while also starting contract work in the capital with the New Zealand Police, centred on use of iPhones and iPads by frontline officers.

He has attended numerous medical and rescue calls during the first few "amazingly busy" months he has been with the 22-member Martinborough brigade, he said, and was quickly promoted to deputy fire chief. "Now I get to put into practice all those things I used to preach, you know," he said.

"I used to look strategically at issues around volunteer sustainability for the long term in New Zealand. Now I'm sitting here in Martinborough as the deputy and I'm thinking in really practical terms about how do we get more members of the community to join the brigade and how do we get them to stay.

"I'm learning first hand about the resources and tools that are needed to make sure it's an enjoyable and rewarding experience, particularly for the young," he said.

"We've got a corps of a half dozen new recruits at the moment and I want them to stay. They're keen as mustard and they understand what the Fire Service expects from them. But more importantly, they're local and they know what their town wants.

"I started out in a composite brigade in Kawerau that had a paid crew backed up by volunteers, just like in Masterton, and I never had an appreciation of what a fully volunteer brigade was about. Now I'm in one.

"It's quite a different experience. You're a lot more active in the stand-alone vollie brigade because they do exactly the same job as the paid guys."

Mr Butzbach said he was pleased to be promoted to deputy and help out with vacancies and management, and signing up as a volunteer gave him involvement with the community while maintaining his service as a firefighter.

"It's something I've been doing all my life and becoming a volunteer was perfect. I'm living the dream, mate, and I actually have some greater goals in mind for the Wairarapa as well."