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Amid many poignant tributes spoken in honour of Hamilton firefighter Derek Lovell, the most powerful came from colleagues who could barely say a thing.
David Beanland, Adrian Brown, Brian Halford, Alvan Walker and Dennis Wells were all hospitalised by the Tamahere blast last Saturday which took Mr Lovell's
life.
All five left hospital to attend the funeral. Three were heavily bandaged and on stretchers and required medical staff nearby as they watched the service from the right side of Mr Lovell's coffin.
Their presence was a reminder of the reality of the blast, and of their dedication to the senior station officer they all looked up to.
Only Mr Wells was able to get up to speak, rising from his wheelchair with his hand bandaged and his face bearing the scars of the blast.
He got a standing ovation as he told of Mr Lovell's dangerous sense of humour and his one fault after arriving from Auckland in 2001.
"You had to get him aside and say to him 'Derek, when you are in Hamilton do not start a statement with 'When I was in Auckland we used to do this'. That doesn't go in Hamilton."
Their presence despite their condition was no surprise given Bay-Waikato area commander Owen Kinsella's description of Mr Lovell's dedication to his job.
"Derek would be saying now 'it's not about me, it's about the team, it's about the service, it's about the families'."
Mr Lovell, 49, lost his life after a blast ripped through the Icepak Coolstore in Tamahere on the southern outskirts of Hamilton, the fourth fireman to die in the line of duty in New Zealand since 1945.
Also present among about 1000 people at the service was Cameron Grylls, the only firefighter to escape the blast relatively unscathed.
Methodist minister Lindsay Cumberpatch also spoke of Merv Neil, the only firefighter caught in the blast to miss the funeral due to his injuries.
Mr Neil was being operated on in the national burns unit at Middlemore Hospital in south Auckland after receiving burns to 71 per cent of his body in the blast.
Hundreds watched a vintage fire engine leave Hamilton Fire Station about 12.15pm with Mr Lovell's coffin on the back, through a guard of honour and to strains of haka and karakia.
Many more lined Hamilton's main street and the road out to Te Rapa, including classrooms of young children, as the procession of fire appliances and ambulances travelled for 45 minutes to the funeral service.
At Te Rapa Mr Lovell's coffin was greeted by a bagpiper and a guard of honour of hundreds of firefighters from Waikato and around the country.
Mourners inside the service heard Mr Lovell honoured as a firefighter, a larrikin, a hunter and a dedicated family man.
Hamilton chief fire officer Gary Talbot described Mr Lovell's dedication to his job, saying he had often dealt with the physical strains of the job and the trauma and death which accompanied some of the scenes.
But he said Mr Lovell was dedicated to helping save people's lives and property.
"You knew firefighting, and yeah mate, you loved it."
Mr Lovell's brother Chris told of their early years and of his brother's dedication to his job.
"If you'd seen all this you would have said 'I'm just an ordinary bloke doing his job.'" he said.
"But what you were was an ordinary bloke doing an extraordinary job."
Fellow firefighter Blair Fothergill told several tales of their love of hunting, including of his final trophy, a stag shot on the Desert Road which was being prepared at a taxidermist before it is placed permanently in Hamilton Fire Station.
Friend Brian White talked about his devotion to his mother Barbara and his wife Milli, while a moving tribute was also given by seven children from Te Kowhai School.
Near the end of the ceremony Milli Lovell was presented with Mr Lovell's gold cap celebrating 25 years of service, which was brought up on the day he died.
She expressed her thanks to the fire service and everyone present.
"Thank you so much everybody. Derek was worth it."
- NZPA
