Our People: Stuart Bootten

Blowing the whistle on reffing and fools who aren't firewise

The FactsSTUART BOOTTEN

Born: Upper Hutt, 1956.

Education: Upper Hutt Primary, Heretaunga College.

What young boy wouldn't be in awe of Stuart Bootten? He gets to ride on fire engines, has spent every winter over the past 50-plus years on the rugby paddock and is a dedicated athlete.

To clarify: Stu, as he's generally known, is Rotorua's fire risk management officer, the swanky new name for fire safety officer. He's also a leading rugby referee, blowing the whistle at premier league level, and is a member of RATS; the Rotorua Association of Triathletes and Multisport.

Then there's this action man's passion for tramping, shared with his wife, Lee. Their quest for adventure has taken them into Borneo's untamed depths and on a recent ice-walking expedition in the Nelson Lakes region. As his young admirers have been heard to say, "Wow, what an awesome dude". Indeed he is.

Growing up to be a fireman had never featured in his boyhood ambitions. All the young Stu Bootten wanted was to play rugby; an addiction that began as a 4-year-old.

"We lived in Upper Hutt, our house backed on to rugby fields. I was always over there, starting out as a bantam, playing through the grades." He stayed at Heretaunga College until almost 18 "so I could keep playing in the 1st XV". Flanker's his position of choice "but Richie's [McCaw] got it all over me, the closest I got to playing at rep level was in the under-21s trials". Regardless, he kept on playing until, at 32, he returned to his former alma mater to coach rugby; the highlight of his four-year time there was taking the college's 1st XV across the Tasman. "We came second."

From coaching, he moved into reffing and was doing so at senior level when his job brought him to Rotorua in 1999.

Since then, he's been the man in the middle at local club rugby games, been assistant ref with the Bay of Plenty Development team, and officiated as substitutions manager at Super 15 games. He was timekeeper for the NZ Maori v Islanders game at the International Stadium - "as close to an international as you can get" - and has had a similar role with Chiefs' games.

Stu confirms reffing's a thankless task. "For refs, the hardest part of the game's pleasing the spectators. They don't know the rules and think they should be the ones doing the reffing." If he could, he'd red card spectators for on-going sideline abuse.

His reffing years haven't been without on-field drama. He was in charge of a match at Rotoiti's Emery Park when a home team player's ankle snapped. "It halted the game for 45 minutes while we waited for the ambulance. By the time we finally got to the finish it was 5.10pm; the match had started at 2.45pm."

Stu would happily talk rugby all day but we're keen to know about the fireman part of his persona. He married into the job, but we'll get to that.

Fresh out of school, he went into the Wellington Harbour Board's accounts office, moving on to the Terawhiti Licensing Trust, initially in bottle stores then managing Johnsonville's Burma Tavern.

"I was young, inexperienced, finding myself dealing with customers supplying drugs. I had to learn very quickly how to manage but it burnt me out."

There's an irony to that choice of words considering his next move was into fighting fires. Unsurprisingly, rugby was the catalyst. "Several guys training for the fire service played in the same club as me. They wanted me for their team so I joined them and the service."

It's here we can clarify our earlier claim he married into the job. His wife, Lee (nee Curtis), comes from a firefighting dynasty. "Her father, brother and 11 other relatives were in the brigade."

Fire farewelled the newlywed Boottens on their honeymoon. "As we sailed out of Cook Strait the hills were blazing with a major gorse fire. My first day back a fortnight later was walking the hills packing up the hoses."

Stu's move through the ranks coincided with what he describes as the "on-gong turmoil of industrial action ... an unsettling time".

By 1999 and with a family of three, the Boottens craved a scene change.

"This Rotorua job [fire safety officer] was going, it fitted in with the environment we wanted, we love the outdoors, I said we'd give it five years; we've been here ever since."

Fire risk management's fraught with frustrations "Too many people still aren't firewise, going to fires and finding smoke alarms without working batteries ... seven fatalities in 12 years, that's hugely frustrating."

There's a surprise revelation from Stu that in Rotorua the fire service isn't all about dousing flames. Since the national training centre opened at Eastgate in 2005, it's become a major contributor to the local economy - "... 25 recruits plus five instructors per 12-week course, other courses running continually, the participants stay in hotels, motels, eat and spend in our shops ... you're talking generating serious income."

Since his Rotorua arrival, Stu's added running and biking to his sporting repertoire. When son Hugh was 14, he joined him in RATS' 393 - 300m swim, 9km bike ride, 3km run. "He got third, I got third-to-last."

He's remained a club regular and last December ran around Lake Waikaremoana in nine hours. We suspect here's a touch of the Edmund Hillary in his psyche. Stu Bootten's the type who tackles challenges "because they're there".

STUART BOOTTEN

Born: Upper Hutt, 1956.

Education: Upper Hutt Primary, Heretaunga College.

Family: Wife Lee, sons Evan and Hugh, daughter Selina, five grandchildren.

Interests: "Following my family's interests", "sport, sport and more sport", "anything outdoors".

On fire: "The prime causes of fire are men, women and children."

Rugby ambition: "To be reffing a rugby game as a 60-year-old."

Personal philosophy: "Building family relationships is extremely important."