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On at least three occasions over the past few months, local appliances have not been able to attend daytime callouts because they couldn’t raise enough crew.
NZ Fire Service volunteer support fire officer for the Rodney area, Don McErlich, says Puhoi has 10 trained volunteer crew available, but needs 20.
“Other local stations have to respond, putting more workload on them,” he says. “The response delays can also become very concerning.”
The shortage of volunteers is a major concern for the fire service and it is a New Zealand-wide problem.
“One reason people may be unwilling to commit is the demand on their spare time, but the stations in the Warkworth-Wellsford area average only two or three calls a week.
“Employers may also be reluctant to allow time off for their staff to attend incidents but their contribution in releasing a staff member for a daytime call-out once every few weeks is a vital part of our community service. We need more volunteers and they need their employer’s support.”
A greater pool of volunteers enables the number of call-outs to be more equally shared between volunteers and neighbouring brigades, he adds.
There are also different levels of support critical to the fire service. Operational volunteers respond to emergencies, but there is also a need for operational support crew who carry out non-hazardous tasks such as people and traffic control and transport of equipment, to free up the trained volunteers for more specific tasks.
A third layer of volunteers help involves administrative support or presenting fire safety programmes to schools or the elderly.
“We really need more help at all levels but critically at the ‘front-line’ of our service,” Don says. “Training is offered and it can open doors to other employment opportunities.”
Anyone interested in becoming a volunteer can contact Don on 027 233 151 or contact their local brigade.
For Kaiwaka, contact John Bowmar on 027 276 4488. For Mangawhai Heads, contact Gary Madden on 027 431 7018.
Both brigades are about five or six volunteers down on their optimum number and are particuarly keen to recruit volunteers who can respond to daytime callouts.
Can you help?
A Fire Service volunteer must be 16 years and 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 – attending some weekend courses at the New Zealand Fire Service Training Centre, as well as weekend courses and weekly training sessions held at their own station premises.
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 supportive family as they too 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.
Many of these young recruits become confident leaders in their community, learning valuable life skills and earning considerable respect from fellow residents.
It’s exciting work which involves helping people in times of need.
