UFBA Officers
The current officers of the UFBA:
Garry Stanley QFSM
PatronGarry was formerly Chief Fire Officer at Matamata, President and Patron of the Auckland Provincial Fire Brigades Association and a Vice President of the UFBA Accident Assurance Society. He was elected a UFBA Executive Member in 1984 and was President in 1988/89. Garry was inaugural Chairman of the UFBA Benevolent Fund from 1989 until 1993, when he was appointed a member of the NZ Fire Service Commission by the Government. He was a Fire Commissioner from 1993 to 1997, the first Volunteer Firefighter to be appointed. Garry was awarded the Queens Fire Service Medal (for Distinguished Service) in 1990.
Brian Watters
PresidentBrian was elected to the current UFBA Board in March 2009 at Queenstown before becoming Vice President in November 2011 and President in 2012. He joined the Morrinsville Volunteer Fire Brigade in 1971, served as brigade secretary for six years from 1974, and has been an Officer for twenty-seven years, the last nine as Chief Fire Officer. He also served as President of the NZFBI from 1990 to 1992. He currently works for 24/7 Environmental Services Ltd.
Pat Fitzell
Vice PresidentPat was elected to the Board in 2010 and served two years as a director before being elected as Vice President. He started his Fire Service career in the Matamata Volunteer Fire Brigade in 1966 as a messenger. In 1970, he joined the paid staff in the Hamilton Fire Brigade and left Hamilton in 1999 as a Senior Station Officer. In 2001 he was appointed to Chief Fire Officer of the Wanganui Brigade and in 2004 moved to New Plymouth as Assistant Fire Commander/Chief Fire Officer of the New Plymouth Fire Brigade and was appointed Area Manager/Commander Taranaki under the last restructure.