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One of the most important voluntary services in the community is also the one most in need of new recruits.
The fire service desperately needs to increase its pool of volunteers both locally and nationally to maintain its vital emergency service role.
Warkworth Volunteer Fire Brigade Training Officer Peter Connell says it’s an ongoing issue.
“It’s a problem for all volunteer fire brigades in New Zealand,” he says.
“Here in Warkworth we have got a few new recruits, but we’re still about six people short.”
He says the brigade can always manage to get a crew together, but there are not always as many people as they would like in support.
“You generally need an officer, driver and two in the back. We can always guarantee to get one fire engine crewed, but sometimes we struggle to get a second one out and when that happens, we have to call on other local brigades – Mahurangi East, Matakana, Leigh, Wellsford, depending on where the incident is. And that’s the same for all local brigades, we’re all in the same situation.”
Peter says he understands that becoming a fire fighter requires a considerable time commitment, not only from the volunteers, but from their employers and families as well.
“There’s a lot of pressure on people and it’s hard on employers, too, knowing their staff have to ‘drop and run’, when they might be gone for half an hour or they might be away for five or six hours – you never know,” he says.
The initial training takes around four months at the recruit’s nearest local fire station, plus a seven-day course either at Mount Wellington or Rotorua training centres.
So, what would a potential recruit get out of volunteering for their local fire brigade?
“I think the pride they get out of helping their local community and saving lives, saving buildings, attending car accidents and medical call-outs,” he says. “They would see how beneficial it is to be a volunteer, not just as a fire fighter but in anything. And most people who join end up staying.”
Can you help?
A Fire Service volunteer must be 16 years or over. Volunteers are trained in basic fire fighting skills for rural vegetation, breathing apparatus, pump operation, emergency vehicle driving, fire ground safety, basic and advanced first aid and scene protection.
The commitment to becoming a volunteer is significant – it means attending some weekend courses at the New Zealand Fire Service Training Centre, as well as weekly training sessions and occasional weekend courses held at their own station.
A good level of fitness is required, and a supportive employment situation that enables the volunteer to ‘drop and run’ for an unknown length of time at the summons of the pager. Then there is the need for a supportive family, too, as they have to accept that someone has a need, and their family member is going to help.
The rookie starts as a recruit fire fighter, progressing to qualified fire fighter, senior fire fighter and then station officer. Some choose to go on to become professional fire fighters.
To find out more, contact your nearest local fire station, visit fire.org.nz or call 0800 347 373
