It’s good to see spring has sprung, and the days are getting longer and warmer again. With spring comes daylight savings, and hence a friendly reminder of the need to check that the smoke detectors in your home are all in working order.
We have been fortunate to secure the purchase of an ex-Fonterra milk tanker. This Volvo truck is to replace our existing aged water tanker. We are in the process of obtaining quotes and fundraising for the work needed to bring this truck up to Rural Fire water tanker standards. This process is quite involved and I would like to thank all my members for their involvement in this project. If anyone in the community has any contacts or knows of anyone who specialises in fitting out this type of truck, or who can contribute to this project in some way, we would greatly appreciate your input. We hope to have the replacement tanker fully operational early in the New Year.
During the winter, I have attended a number of consultation workshops, as the volunteer representative for the Pumicelands Rural Fire Authority, in relation to the establishment of Fire and Emergency New Zealand (FENZ) which will bring the New Zealand Fire Service and the National Rural Fire Authority under one integrated organisation. I also had the opportunity to attend a conference for volunteers on leadership within the New Zealand Fire Service. This has provided a good insight into the possible future of rural fire under FENZ.
We have had four keen new members join recently. It has been beneficial to buddy these recruits up with more experienced fire fighters during training sessions as this provides an opportunity for developing leadership and mentoring within the rural fire force, as well as ensuring new members are made to feel welcome.
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 3628874. You can also go to our website: www.okarekaruralfire.com.
Phil Muldoon
Chief Fire Officer
Members of the Lake Okareka Volunteer Rural Fire Force. Back Row left to right: Phil Muldoon, Dave Herries, Phil Rennie, Hans Laven, Stu Pinfold, Stu Lyall, Rasmus Andersen, Alan Jones. Front Row left to right : Amber Muldoon, Thomas Firth, Kate Huxford, Irene Ferguson. Absent: Adam McHugh, Callum Gilmour, Blair Gilbert, Kieran Oppatt, Jesse Oppatt, Chelsea Muldoon, Julian Smith, Lewis Shaw, Dave Eddy, Bill Fisher.