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The Manly Fire Brigade’s volunteer fire fighters are often first on the scene for medical, as well as fire, emergencies on the Coast and the latest addition to their fleet is designed specifically for medical callouts.
Deputy chief fire officer Shayne Kennedy says that 65 percent of the 500 callouts that the volunteers respond to each year are medical emergencies.
Taking the fire truck to these callouts is not the best use of equipment, or manpower – but recently the service received a First Responder vehicle that is custom-made for the job.
The nine-seater van is kitted out with a defibrillator, full medical kit, oxygen and basic fire fighting equipment. Only two volunteers are needed to get it on the road, as opposed to four for the fire truck.
Volunteers have been trained to provide basic medical assistance. The First Responder van can also be used to move volunteers to larger incidents.
The vehicle cost $64,500, which took three years to raise – more than $30,000 of this came from the community.
To thank those involved, including Hibiscus Matters, Manly Fire Brigade threw open the doors of its station on Whangaparaoa Rd to the public on October 31, providing fire demonstrations, a fire truck bouncy castle, barbecue, coffee and a chance for kids to try their hand at fire fighting.
The First Responder vehicle was blessed and commissioned – it officially goes on the road for the first time on November 2, but has in fact already responded to two callouts.
