Firstly, a very big THANK YOU to everybody in the area. We survived the long hot summer without a major fire and the Okareka area remains as picturesque as before. In fact, we had a small number of “smoke chaser” callouts and thanks to care and vigilance by all of you, the big one never came.
I went to a Civil Defence meeting recently and I was surprised to find out that we no longer have a Civil Defence Post in Okareka or indeed anywhere in our area. I want to reassure everyone that in the event of a disaster, we will be there to assist you in whatever way we can. I advised the meeting that whilst we have 17 trained personnel and a vast range of equipment, not once in the last 8 years, to my knowledge, has your fire force ever been invited to take part in a Civil Defence exercise or ever been visited by Civil Defence. I believe the same situation exists in Tarawera and West Rotoiti – somewhat of an oversight by Rotorua District Council.
It has been suggested that we change our name to reflect more closely the nature of our organisation. “Okareka Volunteer Fire Rescue Service” is top of the list at present; I would value your suggestions and comments.
Finally, we have a problem with location and a centralised control room! We are aware that there has been a considerable number of incidents, particularly motor vehicle accidents, on Tarawera Road to which we have not been called. Apparently, the Emergency Services control room thinks Tarawera Road is either in Lynmore or in Tarawera. In fact, the majority of Tarawera Road is right in our area. Therefore, I would like to know of any incidents that you might come across on Tarawera Road so that we can use this information to reinforce our request to the Emergency Services that we be called out to any and every incident on Tarawera Road.
Don’t forget to have your chimney cleared before you light your first fire of the winter, otherwise you might be seeing me and my crew sooner than you think!
Dave Field
Chief Fire Officer
Lake Okareka Fire
I went to a Civil Defence meeting recently and I was surprised to find out that we no longer have a Civil Defence Post in Okareka or indeed anywhere in our area. I want to reassure everyone that in the event of a disaster, we will be there to assist you in whatever way we can. I advised the meeting that whilst we have 17 trained personnel and a vast range of equipment, not once in the last 8 years, to my knowledge, has your fire force ever been invited to take part in a Civil Defence exercise or ever been visited by Civil Defence. I believe the same situation exists in Tarawera and West Rotoiti – somewhat of an oversight by Rotorua District Council.
It has been suggested that we change our name to reflect more closely the nature of our organisation. “Okareka Volunteer Fire Rescue Service” is top of the list at present; I would value your suggestions and comments.
Finally, we have a problem with location and a centralised control room! We are aware that there has been a considerable number of incidents, particularly motor vehicle accidents, on Tarawera Road to which we have not been called. Apparently, the Emergency Services control room thinks Tarawera Road is either in Lynmore or in Tarawera. In fact, the majority of Tarawera Road is right in our area. Therefore, I would like to know of any incidents that you might come across on Tarawera Road so that we can use this information to reinforce our request to the Emergency Services that we be called out to any and every incident on Tarawera Road.
Don’t forget to have your chimney cleared before you light your first fire of the winter, otherwise you might be seeing me and my crew sooner than you think!
Dave Field
Chief Fire Officer
Lake Okareka Fire
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