Like spring, the summer season has been a mixed bag of weather with spells of warm, hot days and also periods of a lot more rain than we would generally like over the holiday season. This pattern also looks to continue into February.
While this hasn’t been the greatest summer for holiday plans, the plus side is that this has kept fire risk levels low. Despite this, the grass verges around Ōkāreka (that unfortunately were not mowed before Christmas and are now very long and drying out) still present a potential fire risk. Please stay vigilant and call in any smoke you observe in the neighbourhood and surrounding areas, and continue to be aware of fire and permit restrictions throughout the fire season.
While the summer months and holiday season are still in progress, please also be aware of increased tourists, traffic, cyclists and pedestrians around the Lake Ōkāreka and Blue Lake areas.
In November last year, five members of the brigade were awarded the Australia National Emergency Medal for services provided during various deployments to the Australian community during the 2019/2020 bushfire season. This is the first time such an award has been made outside Australia, which is a rare and special honour for all those across the country who were recipients. A special acknowledgment and congratulations go to Ray Doyle, Stu Lyall, Hamish Smith and Tony Young who were the recipients from Lake Ōkāreka, along with myself.
Over the last few months, the brigade has had a steady run of callouts which more recently included a car going into the lake at the boat ramp and a fire in the Sulphur Point area in town. The brigade has enjoyed having a fuller complement of members over the last few months. However, with February just around the corner, we will once again see a drop in numbers as several of our members head off to university. If you live locally and haven’t gotten around to joining the brigade, then now is the perfect opportunity to assist with maintaining brigade numbers throughout the year. Full training and PPE are provided. Please drop by the station on a Wednesday evening at 7:30pm or you can also visit our website for more information: http://www.okarekaruralfire.co.nz/.
Finally, after 20 years as Chief of the Lake Ōkāreka Volunteer Fire Brigade, I have decided that it is time to step aside and hand the reins over to someone else to take the brigade forward into the next era of the brigade’s long and proud history and place in this special community. It has been a privilege overseeing the brigade’s services and contribution to the local community and wider Rotorua district. We have progressed in so many ways and achieved great things in terms of capability, credibility and resources, numerous national and international fire deployments, and notable achievements such as fundraising for our own fire appliance and tanker, and the building of the new station. However, the main highlights over the years for me have been growing the membership and diversity of the brigade, having so many young members from the community join up and participate not only in the operational activities but also as part of the management committee, and the support of so many people in the community across the years. I will continue to be an active member of the brigade, but I step down as Chief knowing that the brigade is in a great position to move forward into the future.
At the time of writing, the process of appointing a new Chief for the brigade is still in progress. Needless to say, this is my last article for the community newsletter.
Thank you for the support you have offered to myself and the brigade as a whole, and long may this continue for the next Chief and the future generations of the Lake Ōkāreka Volunteer Fire Brigade.
Phil Muldoon
Chief Fire Officer
While this hasn’t been the greatest summer for holiday plans, the plus side is that this has kept fire risk levels low. Despite this, the grass verges around Ōkāreka (that unfortunately were not mowed before Christmas and are now very long and drying out) still present a potential fire risk. Please stay vigilant and call in any smoke you observe in the neighbourhood and surrounding areas, and continue to be aware of fire and permit restrictions throughout the fire season.
While the summer months and holiday season are still in progress, please also be aware of increased tourists, traffic, cyclists and pedestrians around the Lake Ōkāreka and Blue Lake areas.
In November last year, five members of the brigade were awarded the Australia National Emergency Medal for services provided during various deployments to the Australian community during the 2019/2020 bushfire season. This is the first time such an award has been made outside Australia, which is a rare and special honour for all those across the country who were recipients. A special acknowledgment and congratulations go to Ray Doyle, Stu Lyall, Hamish Smith and Tony Young who were the recipients from Lake Ōkāreka, along with myself.
Over the last few months, the brigade has had a steady run of callouts which more recently included a car going into the lake at the boat ramp and a fire in the Sulphur Point area in town. The brigade has enjoyed having a fuller complement of members over the last few months. However, with February just around the corner, we will once again see a drop in numbers as several of our members head off to university. If you live locally and haven’t gotten around to joining the brigade, then now is the perfect opportunity to assist with maintaining brigade numbers throughout the year. Full training and PPE are provided. Please drop by the station on a Wednesday evening at 7:30pm or you can also visit our website for more information: http://www.okarekaruralfire.co.nz/.
Finally, after 20 years as Chief of the Lake Ōkāreka Volunteer Fire Brigade, I have decided that it is time to step aside and hand the reins over to someone else to take the brigade forward into the next era of the brigade’s long and proud history and place in this special community. It has been a privilege overseeing the brigade’s services and contribution to the local community and wider Rotorua district. We have progressed in so many ways and achieved great things in terms of capability, credibility and resources, numerous national and international fire deployments, and notable achievements such as fundraising for our own fire appliance and tanker, and the building of the new station. However, the main highlights over the years for me have been growing the membership and diversity of the brigade, having so many young members from the community join up and participate not only in the operational activities but also as part of the management committee, and the support of so many people in the community across the years. I will continue to be an active member of the brigade, but I step down as Chief knowing that the brigade is in a great position to move forward into the future.
At the time of writing, the process of appointing a new Chief for the brigade is still in progress. Needless to say, this is my last article for the community newsletter.
Thank you for the support you have offered to myself and the brigade as a whole, and long may this continue for the next Chief and the future generations of the Lake Ōkāreka Volunteer Fire Brigade.
Phil Muldoon
Chief Fire Officer
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