Keith Merritt is the new Te Puke Volunteer Fire Brigade deputy chief fire officer.
Keith Merritt is the new Te Puke Volunteer Fire Brigade deputy chief fire officer.
Keith Merritt is a one-brigade firefighter.
The 31-year veteran started with the Te Puke Volunteer Fire Brigade when it was short of drivers with a heavy truck licence.
With former deputy chief Dale Lindsay recently stepping up to chief, Keith has been appointed the new deputy.
“Years ago I probablynever thought I’d do this, but the more I see of the brigade and how well it is going, I felt I needed to step up to keep it going because it’s such a great brigade at the moment and I’d like to have my part in keeping it that way.”
Keith originally joined the brigade after being invited, due to there being a shortage of heavy truck licences.
“I was driving to calls before I knew anything else about it,” he says. “But it just progressed from there and I immersed myself in it, the first couple of years especially.”
He says it was also a way to give back to the community.
“I had a business here and was looking for a way to give back and that was a good way of doing it.”
Being self-employed meant he could also be on call during the day.
He says he thinks he and Dale will make a good team.
“We had a bit of time [working together] when [former chief] Glenn [Williams] was away for a few weeks and it worked pretty well, and we’d bounce ideas off each other.”
