The Lake Okareka volunteer fire force's new fire engine was tested last night, only hours after being commissioned. The secretary of the fire force, Mr. M.H.H. Caughey, said he received a call at 11pm to attend a small fire behind a holiday house in Acacia Road on the Okareka peninsula.
With another member of the newly established force, Mr Caughey was given the chance to test the International engine, commissioned with the opening of the fire station yesterday. "She started with the first turn of the key," said Mr Caughey, "and we were able to fight the fire from the road instead of tramping around the house as we would have done with the old portable equipment that the engine has replaced."
The fire was small, and had already been dampened by neighbours. The new equipment was used to drench the trees and ground surrounding the site of the fire, after extinguishing it. Mr. Caughey said no reason for the fire could be established, but if the fire, which was only metres from the house, had not been noticed, the situation could have been far worse. "It's heartening to know that the system works so smoothly," he said.
The four-wheel-drive engine, commissioned from the Rotorua Forest Service, was snugged down in the new fire station opened yesterday by the Conservator of Forests, Mr D.A. Elliot. About 200 people attended the opening ceremony, which signalled the culmination of a huge local effort to establish the fire force.
Although building estimates for the fire station were as high as $16,000, voluntary labour and locally donated materials have kept the figure down to $6000. The Rotorua Forest Service and Fire Brigade has helped with training the volunteers, and practices are held two or three times a month.
At the opening the MP for Tarawera, and patron of the force, Mr I. McLean, congratulated the community on its efforts and said he was sure Okareka residents would sleep easier. He said every community needed volunteers, and would like to see the police force backed up by volunteers in the same way as the fire service was.
Other speakers at the opening were the Mayor of Rotorua, Mr J.E. Keaney, Mr P. Hansen, the president of the Okareka Residents' and Ratepayers' Association, and Commandant R.R. Reynolds, the deputy Chief Fire Officer, Rotorua
With another member of the newly established force, Mr Caughey was given the chance to test the International engine, commissioned with the opening of the fire station yesterday. "She started with the first turn of the key," said Mr Caughey, "and we were able to fight the fire from the road instead of tramping around the house as we would have done with the old portable equipment that the engine has replaced."
The fire was small, and had already been dampened by neighbours. The new equipment was used to drench the trees and ground surrounding the site of the fire, after extinguishing it. Mr. Caughey said no reason for the fire could be established, but if the fire, which was only metres from the house, had not been noticed, the situation could have been far worse. "It's heartening to know that the system works so smoothly," he said.
The four-wheel-drive engine, commissioned from the Rotorua Forest Service, was snugged down in the new fire station opened yesterday by the Conservator of Forests, Mr D.A. Elliot. About 200 people attended the opening ceremony, which signalled the culmination of a huge local effort to establish the fire force.
Although building estimates for the fire station were as high as $16,000, voluntary labour and locally donated materials have kept the figure down to $6000. The Rotorua Forest Service and Fire Brigade has helped with training the volunteers, and practices are held two or three times a month.
At the opening the MP for Tarawera, and patron of the force, Mr I. McLean, congratulated the community on its efforts and said he was sure Okareka residents would sleep easier. He said every community needed volunteers, and would like to see the police force backed up by volunteers in the same way as the fire service was.
Other speakers at the opening were the Mayor of Rotorua, Mr J.E. Keaney, Mr P. Hansen, the president of the Okareka Residents' and Ratepayers' Association, and Commandant R.R. Reynolds, the deputy Chief Fire Officer, Rotorua
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