Few volunteer roles can be as demanding as those of ambulance officers, who require first aid training, driver training, and fortnightly training at their stations.
"We have an assessment interview process to become a volunteer, we don't just take anybody.
"If we take them on we go through an induction programme which is the driving course, manual handling course, they do the first responder course which is an advanced first aid course and takes six days."
Volunteers are asked for a minimum of 24 hours a month, but Mr Cockburn said many do more.
"We do invest a lot in terms of training and uniform so we do need to have a minimum requirement for time,"
As well as the two-day driving course, volunteers are required to drive under supervision to a number of incidents before they are trusted with the $200,000 vehicle.
"You get taught the aspects of driving a large vehicle and backing, all of that sort of stuff, and then some defensive driving stuff.
"Fire and Police have training courses, we're the same," he said.
The effectiveness of this training speaks for itself; with only three minor injuries resulting from crashes in Hamilton involving an emergency vehicle that was attending an emergency in the past three years. It is a good result for a region which sees 100 callouts a day, of which 30 per cent require lights and sirens.
Mr Cockburn said every year St John received funding from the Ministry of Health and ACC, but with a shortfall of roughly $14 million a year there is always plenty for the fundraising team to do.
Despite the success of the volunteers, however, Mr Cockburn said there is a push to get more funding for paid staff from the Ministry of Health.
"Our CEO is, at the moment, in the middle of a big piece of work around gaining additional funding for paid staff," he said.
He said it was a response to volunteering occurring less as people live busier lives and the health and safety of patients and staff.
There is also an increased demand on the service, which Mr Cockburn attributes to an increasing and aging population and calls coming from people who cannot afford to go to a GP. A paid ambulance officer earns a similar wage to a police officer.
"We will always want and require volunteers," he said.
To find out more about volunteering visit www.stjohn.org.nz/volunteering.