A Royal New Zealand Air Force firefighter who was at the forefront of lifesaving actions during last year’s Auckland floods, and been key in improving RNZAF firefighting systems, has been named 2024 Aviator of the Year.

The achievement for Coromandel aviator, Leading Aircraftman Joseph Shields, comes on the back of being named the Aviation Rescue Firefighter of the Year.

“I was really surprised as I feel like I’ve just been doing my job, to the highest standard I can,” he said.

“I’m definitely honoured and humbled, especially amongst the standard of the other aviators who were nominated.”

Speaking from Hawaii where he was completing a leadership course, Leading Aircraftman Shields said he joined the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) in 2021 after a career as a plumber, when the job security was low during the Covid-19 pandemic – and it’s a role he would recommend to anyone looking to start a career in the service.

“No two days are the same, particularly in my trade. We’re one of the only trades that have got zero notice to move. We get paged and we have to move straight away.

“There are also so many opportunities working with the Defence Force. If you’d said to me three years ago I would be in Hawaii with a bunch of other countries, I would have thought you were joking.”

After completing basic firefighter training, Leading Aircraftman Shields was posted to Auckland in August 2022 and has been a key member of the Auckland Aviation Rescue Fire Flight team ever since.

Base Fire Master, Warrant Officer Phil Webley, said Leading Aircraftman Shields has a great vision of what good looks like.

“He utilises his excellent communication skills, relationship building skills and sometimes just brute determination. He has made significant contributions, which have resulted in wide ranging improvements to the operational effectiveness of the Flight.”

Leading Aircraftman Shields was a first responder in the 2023 Auckland Anniversary weekend floods, which resulted in lives being saved and the firefighter initiating improvements to Air Force responses.

“We were called out to the suburb of Henderson, where houses were completely underwater. There was one house where a man, paralysed from the neck down, was floating in his bed. The water was rising and if he’d been left alone any longer, he would have been completely submerged,” he said.

Warrant Officer Webley said as a result of the floods, Leading Aircraftman Shields recognised the need for better protection for Base Auckland firefighters in flooding events, by researching what was being used by Fire and Emergency New Zealand and recommended items for purchase.

“Base Auckland now has two complete water safety kits that have been deployed numerous times and have dramatically improved the safety of personnel working in and around water.”

Leading Aircraftman Shields regularly volunteers his time in the Auckland community, where he is a key member of the West Harbour Fire Brigade, attending many notable emergency incidents in the local area.

When reflecting on the firefighting trade, he said: “It’s the unknown, not knowing what you might be faced with at any time. We can get called out at any moment, and I enjoy the unpredictability of what you’ll be responding to. I enjoy helping people and my country at the same time.”

The Aviator of the Year accolade is awarded annually to the serviceperson who takes action to make a significant and positive contribution to the RNZAF and New Zealand Defence Force, and who personifies the organisations’ core values.