HLM -Chapter 840 The Fire Captain

The strong young man was named Marion Phelps. He used to be a rugby player, playing for a small sports club in Wellington, and worked part-time as a fitness coach.

What interested Wang Bo most was that Marion had been the captain of his rugby teams. He had nearly ten years of captaincy experience—through middle school, university, and later his professional team, he had always served as captain.

Earlier this year, after a match, he suffered a severe muscle group tear in his back. He only fully recovered in September.

Not all athletes are sports stars. These ordinary players only earn slightly more than white-collar workers, yet they must spend a lot on physical maintenance. So, in the end, their real income might not even match that of a regular employee.

While playing for the club, Marion could earn over 100,000 NZD per season, which was almost his annual income. It sounded like a lot, but his regular expenses were even higher.

Thus, even though he had only recently recovered and should ideally rest in bed for another six months, he had no choice—life forced him to return to work.

He originally didn’t plan to attend the job fair, but after seeing Sunset Town’s recruitment announcement, he came early, hoping for a chance.

He knew his résumé wasn’t competitive among professionals, so he waited for Wang Bo and the others to arrive. As soon as he saw them, he approached to talk.

Wang Bo liked this quality—the early bird gets the worm, and diligent employees are always the most likable.

Marion spoke very honestly. After chatting for a while, Hani nodded to Wang Bo and whispered, “This guy might be worth hiring. Even if he isn’t suitable as a firefighter, he can still be a fitness coach.”

Since Hani approved, Wang Bo said no more. He put away Marion’s résumé and extended his hand. “Congratulations, Mr. Phelps. You are the first person today to receive an offer from us.”

Marion’s eyes lit up with excitement. He restrained himself as he shook Wang Bo’s hand—his grip was powerful. “It’s an honor. I’ll go pack now. I can report to Sunset Town tomorrow.”

He should indeed be excited—not because he got just any job, but because he got the position of Fire Captain.

To explain this role, one must first talk about New Zealand’s fire services.

The New Zealand Fire Service is abbreviated NZFS, with the Māori official name Whakaratonga Iwi. Chinese people find its meaning familiar, because in this country, the correct translation of the institution is “an organization that serves the people.”

This agency is the main force responsible for fighting fires across New Zealand. Its mission is to protect the lives and property of residents in urban and rural areas from damage, or minimize loss as much as possible.

But before 1976, New Zealand had no unified fire service—each region had its own fire brigade.

On January 1, 1976, with the enactment of the Fire Service Act 1975, all firefighting personnel and equipment across the country came under unified national management, overseen by a five-member “New Zealand Fire Service Commission.”

According to statistics, New Zealand now employs over 1,700 full-time firefighters, working in 79 fire stations across cities and towns.

In New Zealand, being a firefighter is a professional technical job, not something for young people relying on physical strength alone. This was why Wang Bo had no interest in Marion’s résumé—he lacked professional knowledge.

However, if he wanted to hire such firefighters, Wang Bo had no authority. He was a mayor, but the fire service system had nothing to do with him; he had no power to recruit within that system.

Which leads to another point: because New Zealand is largely sparsely populated, with 80% of the population concentrated in a few cities, rural towns have too few people for professional fire brigades to be practical.

Thus emerged another type of firefighter—volunteer firefighters.

New Zealand has more than 8,300 volunteer firefighters, forming 360 volunteer brigades. They don’t just handle fires—they respond to all kinds of natural disasters and life-threatening situations involving humans or animals.

To put it clearly: they also deal with hazardous materials (toxic, flammable, explosive), rescue people from car accidents, conduct urban rescues, and respond to emergencies caused by severe weather and natural disasters.

Wang Bo had no authority to establish a legal fire station, but he could create a volunteer fire brigade, hire employees himself, and have the town’s finances pay their salaries.

Many towns do this, but usually the pay is minimal—symbolic allowances of a hundred or two hundred dollars, because they’re “volunteers.”

Wang Bo didn’t do that. Sunset Town’s volunteer firefighters earn at least 1,000 NZD per week, plus government social insurance—making it an excellent job.

As for Marion, the captain, his weekly salary is 2,000 NZD.

After signing a draft contract, Wang Bo and his team entered the office to begin formal interviews.

Marion, wanting to appear steady, remained calm while receiving the contract. But after stepping outside, he kissed the contract hard, pumped his fist, and shouted: “YES! Buddy, you always manage to surprise yourself! Keep going!”

Eva soon brought in a large stack of résumés. “I didn’t expect us to be this popular. Look—so many people are still waiting outside.”

Wang Bo flipped through the résumés. “This reminds me of my first time attending a job fair.”

Na Qingyang laughed. “I know this one—Kidd tricked you all, right?”

Wang Bo said, “No, I mean when I went to a job fair to find work. Don’t you remember us attending campus recruitment together? Oh right—you didn’t go. You only wanted to become a civil servant.”

Na Qingyang gave an awkward laugh. “Just because I didn’t submit many résumés doesn’t mean I didn’t join the recruitment season. Huawei and 360 both sent me interview invitations, okay?”

Ten minutes into the recruitment, Eva had already delivered over fifty résumés, so Wang Bo had to speed up.

Hani was even faster—he skimmed many résumés and tossed them straight into the trash.

Seeing this, Wang Bo hesitated. “Isn’t this a bit unfair to the job seekers outside?”

“Then is it fair for me to waste time reviewing trash résumés?” The inspector’s mouth was as sharp as ever.

After flipping through a few more, his eyes suddenly lit up. He handed one résumé to Wang Bo. “Look at this one. He might be useful for the town.”