Te Puke Volunteer Fire Brigade is made up of men and women who drop everything and run when their pagers go off and the fire siren sounds.

But who are these men and women?

With permission from the fire brigade, Te Puke News is publishing a write-up of its members, so you get an insight of the crew, where they come from and what drives them as firefighters.

This week, we have Qualified Firefighter Mark Deacon, who has 10 years of service under his belt.

Read more about him below.

Reason you chose to join: There are a couple of reasons. My good friend Blair Reeve, who is in the brigade, made it sound really exciting and the second is I love helping people and getting into the community, so being in the fire service has really pushed me into something I really enjoy doing.

Occupation: Self-employed builder.

All-time favourite call out: This is a tough question as I’ve been on so many call outs where we have come away with good results. But on a side note, rescuing ducklings down in a drain was pretty cool.

Hobbies and interests outside of brigade: Being a builder usually keeps me busy on my own projects in the weekends, but I love watching sports, helping with my boy’s rugby team and going to the lake.

If you had a theme song, what would it be? What’s My Age Again by Blink 182.

Proudest moment as a brigade member: When we were overseas at a restaurant my wife hit me as she watched a man collapse onto the floor. With no hesitation, I got up and was able to assist with CPR straight off the bat. The ambos were able to take him away with a pulse. If I wasn’t in the brigade, I definitely would not have been much use in that situation. So, I’m pretty proud of that knowing he may have survived.

Most unusual or memorable call out: One car taking out 12 power poles. It was a huge mess, with power lines everywhere. The people were also trapped in the car.

Something you wish everyone knew: How awesome the team is in our brigade, the comradery and friendships I’ve made are some of the best friends I have.