Te Puke firefighter Keith Merritt steps up to deputy role

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 probably never 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.”

“It’s a pretty good dynamic,” says Dale.