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Last Meeting:Tony Keil & Red Watch - Avalon Fire Station
Ryan, Leigh, President Pat, Tom Keil (speaker) & Chris
There are five permanent fire stations in Hutt Valley, 80 permanent staff and 160 volunteers. They work 2 daytime shifts, 2 nighttime shifts and have 4 days off - this helps with their normal family life. Each station has its own team culture, with a family type atmosphere and environment. There are 5-6% female permanent staff and 12% of females are volunteers.
Only 2-5% of time is fire responses, there are lots of commercial false alarms. Other special services include, mountain rescue, water rescue, urban rescue car crashes, use of their cutting gear, etc. Today, the fire service is often the "first responder", handing over to the police or ambulance when they arrive.
In a typical scenario a fire can get well established in three minutes and it takes seven minutes for a fire engine to arrive in an urban area like Hutt Valley. Obviously it's very different in country areas.
They will also come and do a home safety check, looking for risks and make recommendations. If there is a fire and insurance is involved there will be questions such as if there a fire alarm, or was it preventable. They'll work alongside insurance assessors who will do more specialised forensic examinations.
Week's Parting Thought:
"Firefighters never die. They just burn forever in the hearts of the people whose lives they have saved." ~ Anon
Please study and plan ahead, especially if you are on duty to write a Bulletin Contribution. A reminder that it's also your responsibility to find a replacement if you are unable to fulfill your duty.
.JPG)
