Hi all,
While we can’t quite shake off the rain, the warm weather has finally appeared and, now that we won’t be needing our fires for a while, our well-used chimneys can be swept so they will be ready and safe for next winter. Also a reminder that we are now in the Restricted Fire Season and any open fires must be permitted. Please contact Rotorua Lakes Council for this, and check the conditions and any restrictions in force on the day of your permitted burn. Please also remain vigilant for signs of smoke in the bush and surrounding areas.
Rotorua Lakes Council recently organised a controlled burn on Great West Road in Pukehangi to eradicate large areas of gorse on farmland in that area. This burn was used as a live training exercise over two days for all three of the local Rural Fire Forces: Okareka, Rotoiti and Tarawera. The first day was hampered by persistent rain but the second day provided perfect conditions to carry out the remainder of the burn. The various crews gained invaluable experience and skills in dealing with a live fire scenario and, dare I say it, the all female crew, under Ray Doyle’s leadership, stood out on the day
While we can’t quite shake off the rain, the warm weather has finally appeared and, now that we won’t be needing our fires for a while, our well-used chimneys can be swept so they will be ready and safe for next winter. Also a reminder that we are now in the Restricted Fire Season and any open fires must be permitted. Please contact Rotorua Lakes Council for this, and check the conditions and any restrictions in force on the day of your permitted burn. Please also remain vigilant for signs of smoke in the bush and surrounding areas.
Rotorua Lakes Council recently organised a controlled burn on Great West Road in Pukehangi to eradicate large areas of gorse on farmland in that area. This burn was used as a live training exercise over two days for all three of the local Rural Fire Forces: Okareka, Rotoiti and Tarawera. The first day was hampered by persistent rain but the second day provided perfect conditions to carry out the remainder of the burn. The various crews gained invaluable experience and skills in dealing with a live fire scenario and, dare I say it, the all female crew, under Ray Doyle’s leadership, stood out on the day
In terms of call-outs, the fire appliance and tanker were called out to two structure fires in Tarawera. The tanker was also required to supply emergency water to a resident in Tarawera whose tank ran dry. The water tanker continues to be a valuable asset for Lake Okareka Rural Fire. However, as some residents have witnessed, the current tanker is getting somewhat slow at climbing the hills out of Lake Okareka. Fortunately, we are well underway with work to get the replacement tanker (purchased earlier in the year) ready for service. Stage One of fitting out the replacement water tanker is progressing well with Patchells Stainless Ltd undertaking this work. Costs are coming in under budget for this stage of work and we are now in the process of seeking further funding from charitable trusts to complete the work required.
Lake Okareka Rural Fire is working with Dennis Falconer to provide a fireworks display on New Year’s Eve. For those who have been to previous fireworks displays at Okareka, this is a great community event that we are proud to support. Dennis Falconer is a certified fireworks display provider and has been asked by various people in the community to put on another display this New Year’s Eve. Fortunately, Dennis has no other commitments and is available to do this. Funding for the event will be through donations from the community to make this possible. Dennis is donating his time, equipment and expertise, but financial support is required for the fireworks themselves and, closer to the time, a little man/girl power will be needed to help prep and set-up the display.
The Okareka Fire team will be helping out and assisting in the consent/permitting process, and have facilitated the fundraising by accepting donations through their website page for the display. We also welcome feedback on the timing of the event to ensure we cater for families of all ages. You can go to the following web page for more details of the display and to make donations: www.okarekaruralfire.com/donate. Alternatively, feel free to call Dennis directly for any queries on 0275966942 or 3628 737.
On another fundraising note, a team of eight from the Fire Force have entered for the 2017 Sky Tower Stair Climb. This will be the fourth consecutive year for Lake Okareka Rural Fire. The team for next year includes two of our youngest members, Thomas Firth and Amber Muldoon, who will be joined by Rasmus Andersen, Blair Gilbert, Stu Lyall, Phil Rennie, Lewis Shaw and myself. This event raises funds for Leukaemia and Blood Cancer New Zealand to support victims and their families. The 2016 Stair Climb again raised over $1 million for this worthy cause. If you would like to support the Lake Okareka Rural Fire team for next year’s Sky Tower Challenge, you can make donations via: https://firefightersclimb.org.nz/.
If you have been thinking about joining the Fire Force, please come down to the fire station at 7.30pm on a Wednesday night when we do training or phone me on 3628 874. You can also go to our website: www.okarekaruralfire.com.
Phil Muldoon
Chief Fire Officer
The Okareka Fire team will be helping out and assisting in the consent/permitting process, and have facilitated the fundraising by accepting donations through their website page for the display. We also welcome feedback on the timing of the event to ensure we cater for families of all ages. You can go to the following web page for more details of the display and to make donations: www.okarekaruralfire.com/donate. Alternatively, feel free to call Dennis directly for any queries on 0275966942 or 3628 737.
On another fundraising note, a team of eight from the Fire Force have entered for the 2017 Sky Tower Stair Climb. This will be the fourth consecutive year for Lake Okareka Rural Fire. The team for next year includes two of our youngest members, Thomas Firth and Amber Muldoon, who will be joined by Rasmus Andersen, Blair Gilbert, Stu Lyall, Phil Rennie, Lewis Shaw and myself. This event raises funds for Leukaemia and Blood Cancer New Zealand to support victims and their families. The 2016 Stair Climb again raised over $1 million for this worthy cause. If you would like to support the Lake Okareka Rural Fire team for next year’s Sky Tower Challenge, you can make donations via: https://firefightersclimb.org.nz/.
If you have been thinking about joining the Fire Force, please come down to the fire station at 7.30pm on a Wednesday night when we do training or phone me on 3628 874. You can also go to our website: www.okarekaruralfire.com.
Phil Muldoon
Chief Fire Officer
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