Peter Menzies has had an involvement with matters relating to fire since 1968 when he joined the Timaru Fire Brigade as a firefighter. His interest in the subject of fire fighting began in the late 1950's when he took part in a 'Scout' fire drill competition.

 Peter's fire service career involved:

• 11 years as an operational firefighter in Timaru and Dunedin, 5 years as a Fire Safety Officer in Dunedin completing this services as the divisional officer (fire safety) during the development of the Fire Safety Inspectorate.
• 3 years as an instructor at the Officers Training College in Island Bay, at the rank of Assistant Commander.
• 10 years as an (operational) executive officer in Wellington. During this time he had a twelve month period of attachment to the Northern Command as Divisional Commander (Northern).

Peter's comprehensive experience is gained from:

• An extensive background in the Fire Service, with operational attendance at major incidents such as Whitcoulls in the Leith in Dunedin, Taieri floods, Abbotsford landslip, both Parliament Buildings fires, (structure fire) Lambton Quay & Panama Street, (structure fire) corner Mercer & Willis Street, and numerous rural (multiple) alarms.
• Extensive training in fire safety and fire investigation under the guidance of the late Colin Flanagan, who was the undisputed leader in his field in New Zealand.
• Extensive 'Adult Teaching' as an instructor at the National Fire Service College.
• Management responsiblities in the Wellington Fire Region including fire safety, equipment, finance, communications, corporate reporting and equipment stores.
• Member of the Institution of Fire Engineers for 30 years including two and a half years as President of the New Zealand Branch.
• New Zealand's first member of the International General Assembly of the Institution of Fire Engineers.
• Elected as a Companion Member of the Institution of Fire Engineers during 2007.
• Appointed as an Engineering Technician (EngTech) of the Engineering Council (UK) in September 2007.
• Trained at the Royal New Zealand Police Dog Training Centre as New Zealand's first (Accelerant Detector) Dog Handler.
• Trained with the Building Research Association of New Zealand in the design of domestic sprinkler systems.

Chris has a BA degree in English Literature from Victoria University, at the same time he studied Chemistry and Physics which included his favourite subject of Spectroscopy, the analysis of compounds through the various wavelengths emitted or absorbed by them.

Chris has certificates in both computers and business administration and has recently passed his Institute of Fire Engineers Level 2 Certificate in Fire Science, Operations and Safety.

In his spare time Chris likes to paint and sculpture and has displayed his work in art galleries and competitions around the Wellington region.