"Hannah does so much work in the background for this brigade, and we're extremely lucky to call her ours."
Barnes started as a volunteer firefighter in 2017, and received her five-year service medal in May. She says she has never earned a medal in her life so it was quite an honour.
Her father Peter Robb was killed in a car accident near Longburn eight years ago and the first people on the scene were volunteer firefighters. Barnes felt she would end up a firefighter herself.
Community service is in her blood. Robb was a volunteer firefighter and also involved in Civil Defence, while her maternal grandfather was a volunteer ambulance officer.
Barnes' daughter was 6 months old when she started in the brigade.
One of her many roles for the brigade is organising events but the brigade leadership managed to keep from her who the 2022 member of the year was. She was shocked when the citation was read out and she realised it was her. She feels honoured her name will be on the Ashhurst fire station wall forever.
Symptoms of an autoimmune condition came on suddenly about two years ago and last year Barnes stepped down to an operational support firefighter role as she didn't feel like she could continue as an operational firefighter.
She does everything a firefighter does except wear breathing apparatus. She realised she didn't have to be the person putting out the flames as there is much more to being a firefighter such as traffic control and first aid.
Barnes loves talking to people and is comfortable providing emotional support in times of crisis. A radiation therapist by profession, she works part-time in quality and service development at Palmerston North Hospital.
She also loves the brigade's community engagement work such as school and preschool visits.
As welfare support officer, Barnes supports other members of the brigade after surgery, if they are unwell, during a bereavement, or with a newborn.
She says the previous treasurer, Neil Foot, did a wonderful job and she has huge shoes to fill. She has moved the accounts from Excel to Zero as she is experienced with that package from helping her husband, Mike Barnes, run his business and from previously operating businesses.
Barnes says the brigade is incredibly supportive of families. "We call it our fire whānau."
She hopes her three children go on to do some kind of community service.
Barnes' paternal grandmother, Keitha Robb, still has an article about her son Peter receiving his firefighter long service medal and is keen to add this article to her collection.
Peter stepped down to operational support after knee surgery.
"It didn't stop him from volunteering, he kept going," Barnes says.
She is not from Ashhurst but has lived there for about eight years. It is husband Mike's home town and she partly joined the brigade to be part of the community.
"The people here are lovely, the community here are lovely."
The Ashhurst brigade is seeking more volunteers, particularly those who can respond during the day as a lot of members work in Palmerston North. You can attend a training session on Mondays at 7pm at the station or make contact via Facebook.
This is a Public Interest Journalism funded role through NZ On Air
