Wanaka locals know Wanaka Airport operations manager and volunteer fireman Ralph Fegan is a top bloke, and now TVNZ audiences know it too. 

Ralph was featured last Sunday (November 13) on the One News ‘Good Sorts’ segment, a weekly celebration of unsung Kiwis who are doing good things. He was nominated by fellow firefighter Jodie Rainsford, who praised the caring way Ralph looks after his fellow firefighters, following up with calls and texts to check on them after difficult call-outs.

Ralph called the Good Sort experience "very humbling”. "You don’t do these things for recognition, you just do it because you enjoy doing it,” he said.The segment highlighted Ralph’s work with the Wanaka Volunteer Fire brigade, his role officiating at funerals and at weddings, and his skill as a matchmaker - he is reputedly responsible for the pairing of four local couples (leading host Hadyn Jones to call him "Good Cupid” in pre-show publicity). 

There is also touching footage of a first meeting between Ralph and Gena Bagley. Gena and husband George Konia lost their seven-year-old daughter Scarlett earlier this year, and Ralph managed to organise for a note for Scarlett to be sent skyward on the NASA weather balloon when it launched in May.

Ralph said he had organised the gesture through Gena’s father, Ken Bagley, so had valued immensely the opportunity to meet Gena in person through the ‘Good Sort’ filming. "For me, the show was worth doing to meet that lady even for just two or three minutes. That was really special,” he explained.

The only part of the segment Ralph said he was a little uncomfortable with was being called "the glue” of the fire brigade. "It’s about everybody, not just one person,” he said. He added he could not do what he does without the exceptional support of his wife, Lynne. Without her help, he said, he wouldn't be able to help others. 

And with that in mind, it was a good weekend for all the good sorts of the fire brigade, with the official opening of the new fire station in Ballantyne Road, held on Saturday afternoon (November 12). This was followed by the Hollywood Heros Dance Party and auction at Lake Wanaka Centre, a fundraiser for the Wanaka Volunteer Fire Brigade and Wanaka St John Ambulance.

‘Good Sorts’ has been airing since 2009, and runs weekly after the weather on Sunday night's on One News.

Click More to watch Ralph’s ‘Good Sorts’ segment.

PHOTO: Supplied