New Zealand's 'fire giant' celebrates 50 years of service

Friday, 14 October 2022

Chris Valentine has been recognised for half a century of firefighting service.

Nelson firefighter Chris Valentine reckons he was the tallest fireman in the country when he joined in 1971.

At six foot six, the then 19-year-old firefighter needed a specially made uniform for him to wear. The trousers provided only went to his mid-calf, and the jackets only went up to his elbows.

“People were laughing at me when I came out of the truck. I just looked ridiculous.”

Now, 50 years later, Valentine has been acknowledged for half-a-century spent fighting fires in the Nelson region.

* The sometimes difficult pairing of family life and a career in the fire service

* Fifty years of service: One man's lifetime of fighting fires

Nelson firefighter Chris Valentine celebrated 50 years of service in 2022.

Valentine had no interest in becoming a firefighter as a young man, and was “pushed” into the role back then, he joked.

In 1971, when he was working at Garden Land in Stoke under Ted Sugg, the 19-year-old was headhunted by three local firemen to join the “the village” or Stoke Volunteer Fire Brigade.

Before that, Valentine had never given a single thought to being a firefighter.

Valentine has celebrated 50 years of service in Nelson Fire Station and Richmond Volunteer Fire Brigade.

“I wasn’t a fan, I wasn’t keen to.”

After 11 months at Stoke Volunteer Fire Brigade, Valentine applied to a vacancy at the Nelson Brigade for a career firefighter. He started working there in 1972.

It was a brilliant job, he said. The Nelson Station was run by the Nelson City Council back then, which was “easier” in some ways.

A fire that stood out was the burning of St Mary’s convent in 1983. The building was in the middle of being dismantled to be moved to Founder’s Heritage Park when the fire broke out, destroying the bottom storey.

Apparently, the caretaker had caught a couple of lads inside the structure and had chased them out, Valentine said. They had later returned, and had set fire to the remainder of the building, at the time believed to have been the tallest wooden building in the southern hemisphere.

The top section was saved, but the rest of it was a “massive fire,” with the floor wax used every day to polish the floors acting as an accelerant.

Valentine has attended hundreds of fires in his time. Back then, any firefighter caught in the local paper would have to shout a round of drinks at the pub.

Valentine was headhunted to join the Stoke Volunteer Fire Brigade in 1971.

Unfortunately, Valentine, who controlled the fire hose, was often photographed by the Nelson Mail, who dubbed Valentine the “Fire Giant” in headlines. This was costing him a fair bit of money in shouts, Valentine said.

He eventually got into trouble for turning the fire hose on a Nelson Mail photographer – but never saw the man again, Valentine joked.

Valentine also worked in the station’s control room, covering the area between the Clarence River north of Kaikōura, to Farewell Spit, to Haast.

Valentine said technology has had a major shift since he started. Much of the old equipment used has now found a home in Founder’s Park.

Back then, people used portable radios that linked you back to the station. There was no handheld communication.

The protective equipment was less advanced than now. In the 20th century, helmets were made of cork, and with enough extreme heat, started to melt.

It was when your earlobes started to sting, you knew it was time to leave, Valentine joked.

The culture had also changed from the “male orientated” old days. The structure and culture of the fire service was based on the Navy – meaning, when you got an order, you followed it.

Valentine said it certainly wasn’t “politically correct”, with disagreements often being solved with a boxing gloves scrap.

“You lived together. You couldn’t survive with infighting and animosity.”

Valentine left the Nelson Station in 2010 to look after his wife who was terminally ill at the time.

Valentine would have to complete the Fire and Emergency recruit course to return to Nelson Station. Instead, he decided to join the Richmond Volunteer Fire Brigade.

Valentine said his favourite thing about being a firefighter was the “camaraderie of it”.

“The permanents, they were like a second family. You rely on your brother firefighters so much.”

Advice for new firefighters would be to “go for it”.

“I reckon it's a rewarding career.”