Television Appearance - Just a Job "Rural Firefighting"

In April 2010 Dave Mason Productions was in Rotorua filming a segment for 'Just The Job' which was screened on TV2 in June 2010. The shoot was based around the career of a Volunteer Rural Fire Fighter and was funded by NZ on Air and Fire & Rescue Industry Training Organisation. A director, cameraman and researcher spent two days filming at Lake Ōkāreka, Helipro and Castlecorp for what will screen as a 7 minute segment.

The piece is centred around Kierin Oppatt who has been a volunteer at the Lake Ōkāreka Rural Fire Force since he was

16. The filming included interviews, a staged callout, dry run drills with a helicopter, as well as Lake Ōkāreka volunteers working with the helicopter filling monsoon buckets and practising fighting a vegetation fire. This provided an excellent opportunity for positive media coverage on national television for both RDC and its Rural Fire Volunteers.
 
We are hopeful that young people seeing this programme will be encouraged to become volunteer rural fire fighters for their local communities. Our Fire Brigades depend on volunteers and it is particularly important to keep young people coming through the ranks, and hopefully this TV programme aimed at youth will achieve this.

Behind the Scene Photographs