It's never too late to put your hand up to give back to your local community - and a sprightly Otorohanga senior would know.
Seven Sharp's Michael Holland spoke to Remko 'Rem' Pootjes, a volunteer frontline firefighter with the Otorohanga Volunteer Fire Brigade, who takes on everything from fires and road crashes to medical emergencies.
And at 68, Rem is one of the country’s oldest newest volunteer firefighters after signing up a year ago.
His firefighting partner, Eli, is just 23.
"He's a little fitter than I am, but it’s good training with him because he’s motivating me," Rem said.
The pair will need the motivation when they tackle the Auckland Skytower 9/11 memorial stair climb next week with five of their station mates.
"He's stubborn, he's incredibly stubborn. He sees something and goes for it," Eli said
"I look at it differently. I see it as sheer determination and the want to do it, the will to do it," Rem said.
He became one of the country's 11,200 volunteer firefighters soon after getting into a serious accident while doing volunteer work at a wildlife park in Thailand.
"I fell through a roof and did a bit of damage," Rem explained.
"I broke the pelvis in two places, broke the knee and broke the ankle in four places."
Eli said when he first met Rem, he "thought he was going to struggle".
"I really thought he was going to struggle but he pushed through so I have a lot of respect and admiration for him in that regard."
Rem says volunteer firefighters are just "ordinary souls in everyday life” but "when the siren goes, they become extraordinary".
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