Peter Hallagan served as a volunteer with the Waipukurau Fire Brigade and for Jaycees. Photo / Duncan Brown
Peter Hallagan spent his career with the fire service battling smoke, flames and assisting with road accidents on the front line.
He has been awarded a Queen's Service Medal (QSM) in the 2014 New Year Honours for his 44-year commitment as a volunteer with the Waipukurau brigade.
The achievement follows
Mr Hallagan's retirement last year, though he is still on hand to offer advice.
After joining the service in 1969 thanks to encouragement from work colleagues who were already signed up he rose to the rank of station officer, a title which he held for 15 years.
"Every time the siren went, or the pager in later years, you had this sense of getting out and helping somebody," he said. "Even as station officer I would rather be out and get covered in soot and dirt and smoke, of course road accidents were a big part of it."
