My Account
Matakana Volunteer Fire Brigade is once again seeking new recruits to ensure it has enough crew for local callouts.
The brigade sometimes struggles to get to every emergency at present, simply because not enough members live within seven minutes’ drive of the Omaha Flats Road fire station.
Volunteers’ support member Angela Gibbons says the main problem is that Matakana is a largely transient community.
“There are a lot of people in Omaha and out to the edges of Whangateau, but a lot of them work away and are out from 5am to 7pm, and we need people during the day,” she says.
“We’re not making a lot of callouts, because we just don’t have the people. For anyone that lives in this area, this is about our safety – we need someone there to answer the call.”
The brigade will be holding its annual open day at Matakana Fire Station on Saturday, May 4 from 10am to 2pm, where the focus will be on education about how to provide medical support until emergency services arrive, since many callouts are for medical problems. There will also be a Wendy House smoke demonstration and the cooking oil kitchen fire trailer will be there.
Anyone interested in learning more should contact Peter Guild on 0274 726 080 or visit fireandemergency.nz/volunteering/with-us
