Gary Luff: a life in fire
Published: 01 September, 2008
I am a West Coaster, South Island, New Zealand. Educated at Barrytown young gents academy (Barrytown school) and later at Waimea college, Nelson. After finishing school I started a plumbers apprenticeship, which took six years to complete. Of course by that time I was a fireman, and the apprenticeship was finished on my days off. During one of the early apprenticeship block courses, I wandered down to a local fire station in Wellington and I was asked would I like to join. That is where my fire service career started, 44 years ago.
I have worked in Wellington and most of the paid staff brigades in the South Island, New Zealand. I was made a station officer at age 21 and spent 17 years on the PRT (pump rescue tender), Nelson. During this time I lived in a small community outside Nelson city and I joined the Wakefield Volunteer Fire brigade. I served there for 25 years raising to the rank of Deputy Chief Fire Officer.
A decade ago I transferred to the training department, something I had always enjoyed in an on shift capacity. After a short time of training in Nelson, I transferred to be the southernmost training officer in the world, at Invercargill, the land of Bert Munroe. From time to time, we joined with Dunedin for training courses and then I moved to Christchurch to take up the position of Senior Instructor, New Zealand Fire Service training centre Woolston, the only dedicated training in the whole of the South Island, New Zealand. And here I am today, managing the day-to-day running of the centre with a team of regional trainers scattered throughout the Transalpine region.
