In his 50 years as a firefighter, including helping lead responses to the Christchurch earthquake and Pike River mine disaster, the job was always about one thing for Ian Martyn Pickard.

Saving lives.

“It used to be such a huge thrill to be able to save someone’s life,” said Pickard.

The now retired and Pāpāmoa-based Pickard has been made a member of the New Zealand Order of Merit in the 2025 New Year Honours list for his work in the fire service.

He started his career in 1971 at the Timaru Fire Brigade and the New Zealand Fire Service was established five years later.

“I worked for a different place right through for the whole of the life of New Zealand Fire Service before we became Fire and Emergency New Zealand,” he said.

One of Pickard’s many instrumental roles was to help establish the Heathcare99 healthcare plan for firefighters and their families.

“A group of us that were connected to the union got together one day and said ‘we need to start something’.”

It was firefighters helping firefighters and, not long after, the healthcare plan would grow to include other insurance benefits and access to a range of holiday homes in New Zealand.

These houses are available for firefighters who need time to decompress, as the job can get dark quickly, Pickard said.

“Even now today, sometimes at night, and the different things, there’ll be triggers, and I’ll still see that young, 3-year-old girl who was killed in a car accident or some other horrific sight I saw.”

Pickard was hospitalised twice for carbon monoxide poisoning during his time in service for the United Nations.

Former New Zealand Fire Service national commander Mike Hall, who died in a Tararua plane crash in 2019, had tapped Pickard to become part of the United Nations Disaster Assessment and Coordination team.

Ian Pickard has been honoured in the New Year's Honours List 2025 for his 50-year service in the New Zealand Fire Service and Fire and Emergency New Zealand. Photo / Tom Eley

He recalled talking to the families of the Pike River incident and the decision not to retrieve the bodies from inside the mine.

“I can’t say that I know what you’re going through, but can I tell you I lost an uncle in a mine disaster.”

His uncle died in the Strongman mine explosion on the West Coast in 1967.

“It broke down a whole lot of barriers.”

He said he only commanded the response at Pike River for a short time as it became very political and his position was taken over.

He said if he had remained in charge, he would have made it clear to the Greymouth community “there was no chance of rescuing anyone anymore”.

He believed the mine should be sealed and turned into a tomb, as re-entry could cost even more lives.

Pickard was the day shift incident commander during the Christchurch earthquake, working four days on, four days off and swapping over with other commanders.

“I wanted to be there because my daughters and grandchildren lived in Christchurch.”

He witnessed all sorts of action during his time, from major earthquakes to rescuing many cats from trees.

“The minute you get up to find the cat, it will run over your back and down the ladder.”

Pickard was also instrumental in running the fire service National Training Centre in Rotorua, where professional firefighters are trained.

“The centre has a fully functioning community unit. I wanted it to look like a real-life command unit.

“It was my design.”

He said the command centre teaches officers to react to an emergency within seconds.

“We were trying to train our officers to understand the risk, what’s happening, and make decisions.”

He is pleased to have retired from firefighting and is eager to see where the new generation takes the fire service.

“The biggest thing I miss is the people.

“I have got some amazing memories, had some amazing opportunities, and just you can’t replace a lot of the stuff that no one else has had the opportunity to do,” he said.