Martinborough Volunteer Fire Brigade

Meet our team- Annah’s Story
Annah Rait is the proud mother of two boys. Her eldest son Zak is a serving with the NZ Army and her youngest son Riley is a student at Martinborough School. She took up residence in Martinborough 2 years ago and was keen to be part of and connect with our community. In thinking about the best way to go about this, she decided that the local volunteer fire brigade might be an excellent way to meet local people and get involved with the community. The brigade has an important role in the District so Annah thought it seemed like the perfect team to be part of.
Following a recruit drive by the brigade in 2016 with a call to action for recruiting more women members, Annah spoke with a local firefighter’s wife to find out more about the brigade. She then decided to join up. Her initial impressions of the team were very positive. “The brigade is a very inclusive group and treat everyone like family” said Annah “and that has crossed over into her personal life with the ongoing support of the team and inclusion of family in their activities”.
The final part of the firefighter recruitment stage involves a very intense training course at the Fire and Emergency NZ Training Centre in Rotorua. Annah set some personal goals to ensure she got the most out of the course and to be successful. Annah graduated last week. She acknowledges the support of the brigade members with the additional personal training they provided her. Annah is our very latest member to achieve her stripes and is now qualified to ride the fire appliance as a fully fledged firefighter.
Her interests include photography which led her to launch her own photography business. She also manages homestays part time, nannies for new born and instructs RIDE classes in Masterton.
Annah thinks that the best part of being a member of the service is that she can confidently and successfully contribute to the team at any given call out.
Welcome to the brigade Annah!