Fire Brigade

At the Brigade’s Annual General Meeting held 26th July, Chief Fire Officer Bill Butzbach recognized several members who have completed advanced training during the year. Achieving Qualified Firefighter rank were Wayne Thomas, Justin Hudepohl and Lisa Marie Ireland. Dean DiBona passed Emergency Response Drivers Course. Sarah Hullah and Brad Aldridge completed the recruit Firefighters Course in Rotorua. Lisa Marie Ireland and Zoe Sinclair completed the Pump Operators Course. The winner of the Charlie Johns Shield for most number of musters attended was Jake Hawkins.

CFO Butzbach also reviewed some of the activities during the year including replacement of the hose tower with a pole holding a new siren and lighting for the training grounds behind the station. Particular mention was made of the successful recruiting earlier this year resulting in 8 new members who are currently undergoing basic training at the station.

There have been 66 callouts for the first 7 months of this calendar year which is considerably higher than the average. Callouts in June and July were recorded as 6 structure fires including chimney fires, 8 vegetation fires, 2 callouts for power lines down and 2 medical/rescue calls.

The Brigade was recently invited to meet with a family who we had assisted. We enjoyed hosting them and having the opportunity to speak with them in a social setting about their experience. After a tour of our station, appliances and equipment, it appears we have a potential firefighter in Thomas, age 12, who loved the chance to try on the structural fire gear.