Michael Miller said he hasn't found helping people through troubled times tough, but it does give him a different perspective on life.

IT consultant Michael Miller was away when recruiting officers for the Silverdale Volunteer Fire Brigade knocked on his door.

But his wife Janine was home and signed him up.

"She thought they wanted somebody to come round and help with the computers.

Jay Boreham By day Michael Miller is an IT consultant.

"When I came back I got a random text message saying 'see you at the fire station tonight at 7 o'clock'," he said.

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Miller wasn't sure what he was in for when he rolled up to the station that night.

He and a group of others interested in helping protect the community were told they looked fit enough to be firefighters and were asked to have a go and see how they liked it for a few weeks.

Two-and-a-half years later he hasn't looked back.

Now he's trained up as a firefighter and medical first responder, and is able to use equipment to save people trapped in motor vehicles.

"I don't think I would have ever thought of signing myself up, but I am so glad it happened," he said.

In his IT job, Miller said it can take years to slowly put things together piece by piece. He loves the satisfaction of turning up to an emergency and getting the job done from start to finish.

"That kind of sense of completion, and the bit of just helping people. People are just always pleased to see us, even when it is a really bad day for them."

Miller generally finds it hard to get out of bed in the morning, but when his pager goes off for an emergency he is wide awake.

"I should actually change my alarm clock noise to the pager noise."

Time also flies on the job, Miller said.

His first job after becoming fully trained was a scrub fire.

A paddock had caught fire and spread through long grass towards a family home.

Miller and others fought the fire for several hours to get it out.

He was surprised how long it had been when he looked at his watch: "It felt like 10 minutes."

Another great thing about joining the brigade was camaraderie, he said.

"You end up with another 40 odd mates up here when you sign on."

Silverdale Volunteer Fire Brigade is recruiting its next batch of recruits to help keep the Rodney community safe.

Email Nigel Leakey, Nigel.Leakey@fireandemergency.nz or call him on 0223 207 674 for more information.