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Est. 1874
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Chief Fire Officers Annual Repot
July 2009 - June 2010
Yet another year has rolled around and it is time to reflect on what that has meant to our brigade and at the same time it is an opportunity to look forward with our plans for the upcoming twelve months. Each year offers the chance to assess our delivery of service in its many facets in today’s world of being a fire brigade within New Zealand. I have no doubt the skill level shown by our brigade members has served us well throughout the reporting year. There have been numerous opportunities taken to enhance our skills with both in house and external training. It has been pleasing to see the interaction of emergency services during the year and this can surely add real value to our work execution on the job. Training as usual is a strong focus for all members of the brigade. It takes serious time and effort to plan and deliver, and to all those who have had the opportunity to assist Graeme with this activity I pass on my thanks. I believe the quality of training and the participation has been of an excellent standard. We have had a high number of people move along the skills ladder and recertify in others. This is the way of the service and it is essential we maintain at the highest level possible. The one area of concern has been our inability to get the next in line senior firefighters and potential officers across the mark with the required level of training. This has to be a high priority for the upcoming year. With some parallels to training is the competition activity, or in today’s world of terminology, the challenges. A number of brigade members have participated during the year and with considerable success. To all who have been part of this I pass on my congratulations and trust it only the tip of the iceberg so far as the brigade involvement is concerned. There is still the RCR and rifle shooting to be won.
I mentioned last year that we should have a pretty impressive fleet by the end of 2009. This has certainly been the case and the brigade can now carry out its work with one of the best fleets in the country. The opportunity to layout the new appliances was undertaken by brigade members and with a few tweaks along the way has proved to be very successful. Just for the record, the older model Dennis was replaced with an IVECO type 2, ex Queenstown as 62.7 and a new IVECO type 1, replaced our Mitsubishi as 62.2. One of the more challenging pieces of equipment on the new trucks would have to be the alloy extension ladder. While they are certainly easy to manoeuvre, at full extension the stability looks a little different to the wooden trussed extension, more training leads to more confidence I think is the saying. The rest of our equipment is in good shape and is being well serviced. Along with the station duty crews weekly testing, external contactors have done pump testing, BA compressor maintenance, and upgraded our turnout system. There was also a major overhaul of the winch in the hose tower during the year.
Our day to day activity continues to be a mixture of things we have done before, haven’t seen that for a while and that’s different. This only goes to prove we must be well prepared for any eventuality. Some of these calls you may remember well. Horse down in a float, DC3 welcome at airport, Wakanui school fire, caravan fire at Coronation Park, child trapped in a door at the Tinwald Hall, persons trapped in machinery, and the house fire on Moore Street. There is no doubt other calls will be of instant recall to each and every one of you which confirms the variation of incidents we deal with on a regular basis. Another major undertaking by members of the brigade is the station visits and fire safety activity involved. I am sure these are of great value and once again pass on my thanks to all who have the time to be involved.
Membership of the brigade is pretty stable with very few changes in comparison to some around the country. However, changes do occur and at the beginning of the reporting year Brendan Sheehan resigned from the brigade followed later in the year by Scott Haines who took up a new position at the Motueka High School. Scott took the opportunity to continue his service in the Motueka brigade. Big thank you to these two for their contribution to the Ashburton brigade. With the resignations came the opportunity for the brigade to take on two new members. From the interview process and subsequent brigade acceptance, Glen Sowman and Robert Hampton joined us. Glen came from the Brooklands brigade and Robert is following his father as a serving fire-fighter.
A number of social activities have taken place during the year and have taken various forms. Of most significance was our Xmas function which doubled as our service honours presentation. UFBA VP Ross Dittmer was on hand to make the presentations. Could I again congratulate all who attained service awards, they are well deserved and should be held the high regard they are given. As a brigade we attended the ANZAC parade with SFF Bill Clark doing the honours in laying a wreath on behalf of the brigade. SO Chris Price continues on with the UFBA board and is chair of the challenges committee. This role has certainly been major undertaking for Chris and he is probably looking forward to a slightly slower existence a little further down the line. A project 99% complete is the acquisition of a van for brigade use. With major funding from Rainer Irrigation Ashburton, and the Ashburton Trust the brigade purchased a Ford Transit van suitably fitted with seating and a caged area for equipment. Some work in relation to lighting is yet to be completed but we are up and running with a number of training and competition trips already undertaken. An absolute huge thank you to our major contributors.
As with any organization we will face increasing pressure on people’s time and ability to give of it. I think all of us who joined the brigade have done so with the best of intentions. The trick is to maintain that intention and continue to play a vital role within the brigade. We exist entirely because of the good will from an individuals stand point as well as the support from our family and employers. It is worth remembering, you are part of the most trusted organization in New Zealand, and you can make a difference. In conclusion can I pass on my sincere thanks to our families, our work mates and employers, to Alan McQuarters and all brigade members for being a part of a brigade we should be justifiably proud of.
Alan Burgess CFO 1st Sept 2010 -
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