Titan Kire enjoying his birthday ride in a Kaitaia fire appliance. Photo / Peter Jackson
Titan Kire enjoying his birthday ride in a Kaitaia fire appliance. Photo / Peter Jackson
There was absolutely no doubt that Titan Kire's birthday party on Saturday was his best yet. In part that was down to the fact that Covid-19 scuttled his first birthday party last year, but his second one will take some beating, thanks to the Kaitaia Fire Brigade.
Word had filtereddown to deputy Chief Fire Officer Ross Beddows that Titan had something of a fascination with fire engines, so he and a few of his fellow volunteers arrived in South Rd on Saturday morning to give him, and some of his family and friends, a ride.
"We heard there might be some cupcakes in it for us as well," he said.
And there were, although by the time he handed them over to Station Officer Adrian Gleadell for transporting back to the fire station there were only 11 in a box that a forensic examination suggested had once contained 12.
Titan wasn't worried about cupcakes though. He enjoyed his ride around the Te Hiku Sports Hub parking area immensely, although he left it to some of the older children to acquaint themselves with one of the appliance's hoses.
It might be a different story in years to come though. According to legend Chief Fire Officer Craig Rogers displayed a similar obsession with fire engines when he wasn't much older than Titan, and in 20 years' time might just about be looking for someone to take his place.
