Special delivery for fireman

A 40 Squadron C-130 Hercules delivers a fire truck donated by the New Zealand Fire Service to the island of Weno in Chuuk State, Micronesia. Photo / Supplied

Delivering a fire truck to the South Pacific might be all in a day's work for Rangitikei serviceman Richard Deihl - but even he admitted it was a pretty special day.

Providing humanitarian aid is one of the Royal New Zealand Air Force's key tasks, and this week it was navigator Squadron Leader Deihl's turn to be called into action.

Chuuk State, in the Federated States of Micronesia, has seen a series of serious fires that have damaged the state legislative chambers and a large tuna canning factory, so there was a clear need to get a fire truck to the island.

"There are limited ways to get such a large fire engine there, and the C-130 Hercules is one of the only aircraft that could do it, because it has a cargo space big enough to take a fire truck and is agile enough to land on small airfields in remote areas," Mr Deihl said.

It was New Zealand firefighter Keith Norton who came up with the plan to help out the islanders.

"He identified the need and he has done a great job behind the scenes to personally ensure that Micronesia was given a fire appliance," said Mr Deihl, a former Rangitikei College student whose family come from Bulls.

"It's a pretty special opportunity, being able to support our Pacific neighbours like this."

As a navigator, he is responsible for programming the flight management system, planning the flight, fuel and power requirements and establishing the maximum altitude to ensure that they run to time.

He has been a navigator with No 40 Squadron on the C-130 Hercules since he joined the air force in 1998. After graduating as an instructor in 2005, he is now back with No 40 Squadron, training other navigators.

It's a fast-paced life in the air force - almost as soon as soon as he returns to Auckland, he is off on another mission to Papua New Guinea.

"I am constantly travelling and continuously training, and I have spent more time out of New Zealand than in it since I joined.

"We go to some amazing places. I have been to Antarctica - which is a place most people don't get to see - more than 40 times, and to Afghanistan more times than I can count, sometimes for months at a time."