FIRE BOMB - New Zealand Fire Service

FIRE BOMB 

August 2009 

The New Zealand Fire Service Magazine 

ISSUE 

51

August 2009 

Issue No. 51 

Fire & Rescue is the flagship 

publication of the New Zealand 

Fire Service. 

It is produced by Media, 

Promotions and Communications, 

National Headquarters, 

Level 9, 80 The Terrace, Wellington. 

Front cover: Arson or attempted murder? 

This deliberate fire in Sandringham 

has sinister undertones. 

Photo Duncan Courtier. 

Back cover: Firefighters scramble to check 

on the driver of this truck that plunged 

70m into Lake Taupo. The driver died at 

the scene. Photo courtesy Youthtown Trust 

Rescue Helicopter. 

Centrefold: Some of the lucky volunteers 

to win tickets to the AB v France tests 

in Dunedin and Wellington courtesy 

of Iveco pose at the back of 

Dunedin City Station and 

at Westpac Stadium. 

We welcome contributions from 

Fire Service personnel and their families. 

Email stories and digital pictures to: 

fire.rescue@fire.org.nz 

(Pictures need to be at least 1MB) 

Post written material and photos, 

or photo CDs to: 

Fire & Rescue magazine, 

PO Box 2133, Wellington. 

(These will be returned on request) 

If you have a story idea or an upcoming 

event you would like Fire & Rescue to 

cover, call the editor on (04) 496 3675. 

Fire & Rescue is online at: 

www.fire.org.nz 

ISSN: 1176-6670 

All material in Fire & Rescue magazine is 

copyrighted and may not be reproduced 

without the permission of the editor. 

4 

20 

7 12 

Demonstration ‘Bad drivers’ provide Heathcote Valley training ...................3 

The Issue Callous attack on house ...................................................................4 

New Technology Accelerant detectors beef up investigation processes .....5 

Training Leadership training for Kiwi volunteers ....................................6 

Our People Octogenarian Mac keeps Ashburton spotless .....................7 

Awards Honours board donated ...................................................................8 

Pomp and circumstance ...................................................................8 

In the Community Tahi’s card makes Phil’s trip worthwhile ..................................9 

Icy plunge helps heart kids .............................................................9 

Winter safety heats up in the south ......................................10 

Around the World Privatisation ignites US debate ..................................................12 

Business Staff Survey 2008 .............................................................................14 

Events No volunteers for crash test dummies ..................................16 

Minister gets Auckland tour .........................................................17 

Orewa College boiler explosion .................................................18 

Matt lights up cooking demo .....................................................18 

Catching up with honours – Whangarei celebrates ......19 

USAR search dogs – Dog handlers needed .......................20 

Auckland region celebrates volunteerism ............................22 

Fire Safety Signs the brainchild of Christchurch firefighter .................23 

Fun & Games Teaming up for fire safety .............................................................24 

Seven vie for volleyball glory ........................................................25 

Noticeboard Sports notices .......................................................................................26 

2009 Sports Calendar ....................................................................27 

23 

24

‘Bad drivers’ provide 

Heathcote Valley training 

You could be forgiven for thinking that the Heathcote Valley in eastern Christchurch 

had suffered an epidemic of bad driving with multiple car accidents and responding 

emergency services during recent training exercises. 

By SSO Dave Stackhouse, 

MVA Trainer, CHCH Metro 

The realistic exercises were part of 

this year’s week-long Black Watch 

MVA course at Woolston training 

centre. The course is made up of 

a mixture of firefighters from 

Christchurch and Timaru with a 

variety of service personnel who 

either need further consolidation 

from recruit training or are newly 

transferred into PRT stations. 

The course participants work through 

theory in systematic rescue to learning 

how the various PRT rescue tools 

work, and field problem solving to 

straight vehicle extrication techniques. 

Fellow instructor SSO Dave Mitton 

reckons the most valuable training 

philosophy is the shift to impact 

damaged vehicle entrapment training. 

“The real learning comes when the 

course moves to impact damaged 

vehicles, some with manikins trapped 

within them,” he says. “Once this 

area is mastered they start to learn 

and appreciate the critical tool angles 

and technique variation required to 

effect a quick, safe extrication.” 

The course builds in momentum 

every day. As soon as participants 

have gained confidence in the yard 

exercises they move on to road 

exercises, which injects realism and 

ultimately provides the challenge 

and motivation to maximise the 

learning experience. 

The success of the course depends on 

a process of logistics to ensure all 

exercises are prepared and staged to 

attain each objective or multiple 


objectives set. The third instructor, 

SO Shane Cole has built up quite a 

skill in this field, ensuring course 

participants have little down time 

moving from each scenario while 

working through a methodical plan 

of set-up, safety assessment and 

removal of all scenario vehicles 

and props. 

SFF Rob Illingworth delivers a valuable 

session on patient care, packaging 

and pathways from an Ambulance and 

Fire Service perspective. Rob teaches 

from a unique position of being a 

FF Abel Esera 

prepares the 

scoop stretcher 

to incline down 

to the crash site. 

Demonstration 

former St John Ambulance paramedic 

and is now an operational firefighter. 

The ability to relate technical subject 

matter into an easy-to-understand 

common sense approach is something 

that was appreciated by the course 

participants and would be a good 

model for future training. 

The final exercise tests the skills 

acquired over the previous week and 

allows the lucky OIC ’volunteers’ to 

test themselves in the command roles 

of a stressful extrication. 

SO Steve Butler 

co-ordinates the 

extrication, with SFFs 

Ralph Christophers, 

Mathew Sinton and 

Joe Naughton after 

inclining themselves 

and all equipment 

down to the crash site. 

August 2009 

3

Callous attack on house 

The arsonist’s callous disregard for 

human life has been highlighted 

once again with a suspicious fire in 

Sandringham, Auckland. 

A young couple was woken by smoke 

alarms in their rented Truro Road 

home about 3am to find smoke 

billowing through their lounge 

and flames flickering through the 

floorboards. While the woman rang 

111 on her cell phone (the land line 

was dead), her husband raced to the 

side of the house to connect a hose, 

which was not possible because 

someone had removed the male hose 

adaptor. The adaptor was later found 

on the aerial of the couple’s car – 

presumably placed there by the 

arsonist. 

With the couple clearly unable to 

control the rapidly spreading blaze, 

they went to the roadside to wait for 

the fire appliances. It was fortunate 

that they vacated the house quickly – 

an LPG heater with a 9kg gas bottle 

was in the lounge and soon blew its 

burst disk, creating a major fire. 

4 Issue No. 51 

The Issue 

Investigating FSO Terry Castle says a 

fireball between the garden gate and 

the underside of the house would 

have reached more than 1000C. 

“If any firefighter had been caught in 

the fireball, regardless of wearing 

level 2 gear, that person would have 

either been killed or seriously injured.” 

The fire required heavy streams of 

water being applied before it was 

effectively extinguished by 3.50am. 

The house was valued at $750,000 

and is beyond repair. Most of the 

furniture in the house was destroyed 

or seriously damaged. The couple 

had a contents insurance policy. 

Terry believes someone deliberately 

set up the fire. 

“That person may well not have 

known that there was an LPG cylinder 

in the lounge of the house that would 

blow its burst disk,” Terry says. “I 

would have thought that any offender 

would have had a reasonable idea 

that the house was occupied.” 

Investigations indicate that someone 

The damage to this Sandringham house is evident after an arsonist is 

believed to have set a fire in a basement storage room. A hose adaptor was 

also removed to prevent a household hose being connected. This was later 

found on the radio aerial of the car. You can see it on the front cover photo! 

had broken in through a locked 

wooden door to a basement storage 

room, most probably spread 

flammable liquid, moved a separate 

LPG cylinder outside the storage 

room and under a deck, then lit the 

flammable liquid and ran off. 

The young couple had been renting 

the house for about three months 

after spending 10 years overseas. 

The attack might have been aimed 

either at the owner of the property or 

the people previously living there. 

No one has so far been charged in 

relation to the fire. 

Fortunately, this story is an exception 

rather than the rule for fires in 

New Zealand. As Manager of Fire 

Investigation and Arson Reduction, 

Peter Wilding says less than 8% of 

fires in this country are of a suspicious 

nature and the bulk of those are 

minor fires involving rubbish or small 

vegetation. These statistics place us 

below international arson experience 

such as the US (25%) UK and 

Australia (more than 40%). 

Photo Duncan Courtier

Accelerant detectors beef 

up investigation processes 

How many rugby balls would it take to cover 5463 rugby fields? Answer: 1 billion. 

By Peter Wilding, Manager Fire 

Investigation and Arson Reduction 

Now imagine being asked to walk 

across those 5463 fields covered with 

balls and find the one ball marked 

with an ‘A’ (for accelerant). What are 

your chances? Without the newest 

technology, they are minimal. 

However, now we have state-of-theart 

Photo Ionisation Detectors (ppb 

PIDs) that can test burnt debris for 

traces of accelerant. Each fire region 

is receiving these devices, which are 

1000 times more sensitive than the 

latest gas detectors being issued to 

the Hazmat units. 

The accelerant-detecting ppb PIDs 

are one of a range of new measures 

being introduced into the Fire Service 

as we ramp up our ability to detect 

and deter arson and improve our fire 

investigation processes. Other tools 

include improved intelligence 

gathering capability, automatic data 

analysis tools and pocket-sized gas 

detectors to monitor atmospheric 

conditions for fire investigators. 

To support these new measures a 

range of initiatives is under way 

that includes a memorandum of 

understanding between the Fire 

Service and Police around fire 

investigation and arson reduction, 

a national protocol to clarify 

coordinated fire investigation by 

multi-agency investigators and vastly 

improved fire investigation data 

storage within the Fire Service. Later 

this year we will be hosting a national 

arson reduction forum to encourage 

a cooperative and coordinated 

approach to arson reduction by 

stakeholders across our community. 

International experience has shown 

that a coordinated community 


approach is by far the most effective 

way of dealing with and reducing 

arson. 

Training has been identified as a 

key area that will improve our fire 

investigation capability. This will 

include regular refresher training 

and updates for all staff, computer 

simulation and the introduction of an 

advanced diploma in fire investigation 

recognised across the fire and police 

agencies throughout Australasia. 

To provide national coordination 

and support to all regions, a national 

fire investigation and research unit is 

to be established. A key function of 

this unit will be to extract learning 

from our investigations nationally 

and ensure advocacy for changes to 

reduce further fire risk. This will 

involve both internal communication 

and liaison with other government 

agencies, the insurance industry, 

various trades organisations, product 

manufacturers and importers. 

New Technology 

New technology is now available to detect 

accelerants in fires such as this in Sandringham, 

Auckland (see story on p4). 

Work is also under way to review the 

SMS fire reporting system to make it 

more user-friendly and effective in 

identifying fire patterns and risks. 

Finally, considerable resources have 

been invested in our fire awareness 

and intervention programme (FAIP) 

in the past 12 months, and there 

has been a big in the number of 

interventions. New aspects of this 

programme will be added shortly to 

address large school groups for areas 

where fire lighting is occurring but 

where the individuals responsible are 

not known. 

All this constitutes an enormous 

amount of work and much of the 

initial work has been completed. Staff 

should begin to see many of these 

initiatives taking shape in the next 

few months. Watch this space…. 

For more information, contact 

Peter Wilding, Manager Fire 

Investigation and Arson Reduction. 

August 2009 

Photo Duncan Courtier 

5

New Zealanders Dale Lindsey and Chris Price recently completed a volunteer 

leaders programme at the Australian Institute of Police Management (AIPM) in Sydney. 

Leadership training for 

Kiwi volunteers 

By Jay Gleeson 

The five-day programme was developed by the 

Australasian Fire and Emergency Service Authorities 

Council (AFAC). It aims to develop the leadership 

potential among volunteer services so that leaders and 

organisations are better prepared for future challenges 

and changes. Volunteers attend from Australian and 

New Zealand fire and land management agencies, 

and Australian State Emergency Services. 

Dale, who is a volunteer at Te Puke, says it was fantastic 

getting to know the Australians and the various methods 

Australian services operated under. 

“The course has enhanced my understanding of human 

behavior and how to apply learnings to a leadership role 

in order to manage people better.” 

Dale Lindsey steps through the obstacle 

as his team assembles the apparatus 

during a team-building exercise. 


Training 

Chris, a volunteer at Ashburton, says good leadership is 

critical in a volunteer organisation as the team leaders 

rely on the goodwill and support of the team for the 

organisation to function. 

“This course has provided inspiration and ideas to enable 

me to become a better leader.” 

Chris and Dale have held prominent roles in various 

regional and national firefighting organisations. Their 

position in the leadership programme was sponsored by 

a Dulux and Bunnings paint promotion that runs in 

Australian Bunnings stores. 

For more information on the leadership programme, 

contact Jay Gleeson, AFAC Manager Communications. 

T: +61 3 9419 2388 E: jay.gleeson@afac.com.au

Octogenarian Mac 

keeps Ashburton spotless 

At the age of 80, Alan (Mac) McQuarters must be one of New Zealand’s 

oldest brigade staff members. 

By Kevin Donaldson 

Mac has been the Ashburton Volunteer Fire Brigade 

station keeper for more than 20 years – which is on top 

of his 25 years service as a firefighter for the brigade. 

He joined Ashburton in 1954 after serving the brigade in 

his youth as a runner – someone who would bike to and 

from incidents and relay messages. He gained his gold 

star and left the brigade only to rejoin the Fire Service in 

his current role in 1989. 

To add to this he just recently celebrated his 80th 

birthday. 

Mac still works three mornings a week and is responsible 

for maintaining a station that has more than 400 turnouts 

every year. Until recently, he was also responsible for fire 

safety education efforts in Ashburton by holding station 

visits and the like for local schools, kindergartens and 

other interested groups. 


Our People 

Almost without exception, everyone who visits the 

station is taken with how clean and tidy it is. But Mac is 

renowned for his brilliantly polished floors. It would be 

hard to imagine a station anywhere in New Zealand with 

floors that are as good as those at Ashburton. In fact, 

South Canterbury Area Manager Paul Henderson says 

Ashburton is the cleanest fire station he has seen 

“anywhere in the world”. 

Mac is a strong supporter of the vintage fire museum at 

the Plains Railway in Tinwald. He and Arthur Wolfreys, 

also a former member of the brigade, put in many hours 

of maintenance and holding open days. 

Mac is also well known in Ashburton for his musical 

talent and has just completed a stint in the orchestra that 

supported the local production of Les Miserables. 

With Mac’s positive and humorous disposition it is hard 

to see him slowing down anytime soon. 

Alan (Mac) McQuarters at the Ashburton 

station, said to be one of the cleanest 

‘anywhere in the world’. 

August 2009 

7

Honours board donated 

The New Zealand Fire Service Sports 

Council has donated an honours 

board to the National Training Centre 

in Rotorua. 

Beginning with the first recruits course of this 

year, a recruit will be selected by instructors to 

receive an award for Most Valuable Team Person 

on their course. 

Team work is an essential attribute of any good 

firefighter and the award is presented to the 

recruit that best demonstrates team work from 

day one of the course – not only on the drill 

ground but also in all areas of the training 

process. 

The recipient will receive a $50 Rebel Sport 

voucher and have an engraved plaque mounted 

on the beautifully presented board. 

The award is also seen as a way to raise the 

Sports Council’s profile among the newest 

members of the Fire Service. 

Pomp and 

circumstance 

Four of the first graduates from the Fire Service’s 

TAPS Executive Officer Programme recently 

graduated from Massey University with their 

Graduate Diplomas in Emergency Management. 

The TAPS programme includes Fire Service modules as well as the 

full Massey University Emergency Management Programme. 

Pictured from left are: Assistant Area Manager Des Irving 

(Arapawa), Assistant Area Manager Bruce Stubbs (National 

Training), Assistant Area Manager Gary Ward (Western) and Area 

Manager Brendan Nally (Southern). 

Other graduates not pictured included SSO Jim Prescott (Bay- 

Waikato), SSO Ian King (Western), SO Peter Clark (Bay-Waikato), 

SSO Laurence Voight (Arapawa) and SO Roger Stead (Arapawa). 


Awards 

The first recipient of the award, John Parker of Hamilton (centre) 

and course instructor Blair Kiely (left), with Bay/Waikato Sports 

Council representative Andrew Bailey holding the Most Valuable 

Team Person board.

There are times when it just feels good to be a firefighter. 

Phil Faidley knows. The Pukekohe 

volunteer received a heart-warming 

card from an appreciative 4-yearold 

after a trip to First Steps at 

Pukekohe Preschool. 

Phil had taken an appliance from 

the Pukekohe station along to the 

preschool during the last school 

holidays, and had a chat to the 

kids and their carers about fire 

safety. He emphasised the importance 

of having smoke alarms. 

“Most of the fun was clambering 

around the appliance and having 

a good old time,” Phil says. 

Later he received an envelope full 

of thank-you cards from the kids 

and some photos. 

Christchurch Green Watch enjoy a heated spa after 

their plunge into the ice pool. 

“This isn’t a strange thing, because 

we often get little gifts like that. 

The one that got to me was from 

young Tahi. This little gesture tells 

me that what we are doing is 

worthwhile, it is working, and we 

must continue.” 

The card (see on this page), shows 

that Phil’s message had got 

through in a very personal way. 

Tahi’s mother was pestered by 

Tahi to install smoke alarms and 

“now we have safe house”, Tahi 

wrote. 

“This is what it’s all about,” 

Phil says. “I feel really good.” 

Icy plunge helps heart kids 


It was all for a good cause. 

In the Community 

By Nick Ryan 

Four Christchurch City firefighters recently braved 

an icy five-minute plunge to raise funds for the 

Heart Children Charity. A pool filled with ice was 

set up in Cathedral Square, and several teams – 

including Green Watch’s Nick ‘Jed’ Ryan, Mike Balmer, 

Kelvin Hampton and Ralph Christophers – endured 

five minutes that would have had brass monkeys 

shrinking. Other agencies included NZ Police and 

Christchurch City Council staff. 

The weather on the day was itself chilly, prompting 

suggestions that it was warmer in the ice baths than 

it was out of them! 

The Heart Stopper Challenge was part of Heart Kids 

Week. Every week 12 babies are born in New Zealand 

with a heart defect, and 450 require open heart surgery 

every year. Heart Children New Zealand is the only 

organisation dedicated to supporting heart kids and 

their families. It relies on funds from the community. 

August 2009 

9

A young family sees first-hand 

what can happen to a house 

without smoke alarms during 

Invercargill’s ‘open home’. 


in the Community 

Winter safety heats 

up in the south 

The Invercargill Fire Brigade kicked off its Winter Fire Safety Campaign 

with a station open day, followed a week later by an ‘open home’ at a 

house recently damaged by fire.

By Greg Koppert 

About 350 people were able to 

interact with Fire Service staff during 

the open day in a friendly and relaxed 

atmosphere. The focus of the day was 

to educate people on fire prevention 

with a particular emphasis on winter 

safety issues. It also gave staff an 

opportunity to show people around 

the station and explain the wider 

role the Fire Service plays in their 

community. 

A key feature of the open day was 

free electric blanket and heater 

testing, which was conducted by 

local service agent PD Patton, with 

surprising results. Firstly the sheer 

number of blankets and heaters 

brought in for testing, which indicated 

the public’s awareness of the risk, 

and secondly the number of those 

blankets and heaters that failed. 

Some of the failed blankets posed a 

high fire risk. 

An open day promotional voucher 

was provided by Mitre 10 for a 

substantial discount on a replacement 

electric blanket or heater. 

Education of the care, maintenance 

and correct use of solid fuel heating 

appliances was carried out by 

Rayners, a local heating specialist. 

This raised a few eyebrows for some 

because many practices typical in 

their home are unsafe and inefficient. 

State Insurance also gave away smoke 

alarms, illustrated the value of house 

and contents insurance, and described 

the obvious costs of what can often 

be avoidable fires. 

Further interest was generated by 

joint operations between Fire and 

Ambulance which enthralled the 

large crowd with two extrication 

displays. The crowd was then given a 

practical demonstration on cooking 

fires, how to avoid them and safe 

methods to extinguish them. 

In the Community 

Fire and Ambulance staff 

demonstrate a vehicle extrication 

in front of an attentive crowd. 

Thanks must go to SO Aaron Ramsey 

and Brown Watch for helping to 

make the day a success and to the 

Invercargill District Promotions Group 

for all its hard work and planning. 

The ‘open home’ attracted up to 200 

people, who saw first-hand what 

could happen to a house that had no 

smoke alarms. Seven occupants – 

three adults and four children – 

narrowly escaped the early-morning 

fire and three were treated for 

respiratory injuries. The house was 

extensively damaged. 

One of the occupants said she woke 

to a taste of smoke in her mouth which 

was the only factor to raise the alarm. 

The Invercargill District Promotions 

Committee intends to survey the 

people who attended the open home 

to measure what fire safety benefits 

came out it, what fire safety behaviour 

may have changed or been reinforced 

for them. 

The New Zealand Fire Service Magazine August 2009 

11

Privatisation ignites US 

A recent Boston Globe article has inflamed the debate about private fire 

protection in the United States. 

Columnist Peter Funt wrote that as the fire danger climbed 

in the western states, fire protection was gradually being 

added to the list of essential services for the rich. He said 

privatisation had emerged in several forms. 

“In some instances, private contractors are hired by 

state and local government to deal with extreme fire 

emergencies. The National Wildfire Suppression 

Association, formed in 1991, represents over 150 private 

firms that employ firefighters and equipment to assist 

locally on an ‘as needed’ basis. 

“Quite a different form of private fire protection is being 

funded by large insurance companies. Last year, Chubb 

Corp began offering fire protection to its clients in 13 

western states as long as their homes have a replacement 

value of at least $1 million.” 

According to Funt, California’s Golden Valley Fire 

Suppression is to begin selling private fire services directly 

to property owners in areas already served by municipal 

fire departments. 

“For a fee of $30,000, the company will supply fire 

protection for as long as the customer owns the home. 


Around the World 

It plans to station its own fire trucks in carefully chosen 

‘clusters’ near paying customers to guarantee a response 

time of under five minutes.” 

Private fire protection might well appeal to wealthy 

homeowners who have seen valuable property go up in 

smoke in recent California wildfires. In October 2007, 

fire destroyed more than 375 homes near San Diego 

where local fire protection was deemed to be inadequate. 

Concerns, however, have arisen about private firms and 

their training procedures, reliability, and accountability. 

Moreover, privatisation can result in reduced public 

services and even greater cuts in public funding. The more 

people who take up Golden Valley’s offer, the less reliable 

the public service is likely to become. Local authorities 

are less likely to fund additional fire protection in areas 

where it is largely handled by the private sector. 

The fire service is just one more area of privatisation 

debate in the US. Inland Revenue is turning to private 

companies to collect taxes for a fee; the military uses 

private police for security in Iraq; and many states are 

housing inmates in prisons run by private businesses.

debate 

“In California, with its horrendous $24 billion budget 

deficit, virtually every area of tax-supported operations 

faces cutbacks. How severely basic services like fire 

protection are curtailed, or restructured, is a burning 

question,” Funt says. 

The Boston Globe article elicited many responses on 

its website. 

One said that with privatisation, those with the least 

would lose everything while others with more than 

enough will lose nothing. “The message is that we, 

our homes and the tax dollars we contribute don’t 

matter anymore. The raw meanness of our society is 

beyond sad.” 

Another said: “If this kind of economic Balkanisation is 

not stopped, pretty soon we will have 300 million 

individuals and no country.” 

Others argued that private companies would have to 

tap into public utilities, such as the water supply, 

and would undoubtedly use public roads all paid for 

by taxpayers. 

Around the World 

“Ancient Rome had this system until it became apparent 

that private fire brigades would set fires to get 

customers,” one person wrote. “During the Robber Baron 

era, fire brigades were private as well, and unless your 

building had a brass plate indicating your dues were up 

to date, they would let your structure burn.” 


13


Business 

Staff Survey 

Initiatives are making a positive impact 

Message from National Commander Mike Hall 

I would like to thank all those staff who completed the 2008 

staff survey. The Fire Service staff survey is 

an opportunity for you to ‘tell it like it is’. 

It is pleasing to see that the programmes and 

initiatives the organisation has invested in 

based on previous staff feedback are making 

a positive impact. Below are some of the 

highlights. 

You told us! 

. . . that the Employer Recognition Programme is a success! 

At the time the Fire Service conducted the 2006 survey, nine 

volunteer brigades were involved in the pilot Employer 

Recognition Programme. The 2006 survey results in response 

to the statement ‘My employer/business gains recognition for 

my efforts as a fire service volunteer’ were higher for the nine 

pilot brigades involved. As a result of this, one of the 2006 

improvement strategies was to increase the Employer 

Recognition Programme to 100 brigades. This year has seen a 

significant increase in results (from 9% to 39%). Those 

brigades that are involved in the Employer Recognition 

Progamme once again had higher results than all personnel 

(63% vs 39%). 

. . . that you feel SMS is assisting you in your role with a 

significant increase in staff agreeing to this question since 

2006. Over the past two years we have listened to your 

feedback and suggestions, as a result improvements have been 

made. Three of the more significant improvements through 

this time was to install new servers, upgrade software and 

increase the data connection between stations and the server 

room. The effect has been that both ‘staff confidence’ and 

‘trust in the system’, have improved. 

. . . that you value the community focus of the Fire Service. 

We are all about Serving our Communities and 92% of you 

agree that the Fire Service demonstrates this value, a significant 

increase from 2006. 

. . . that a job in the Fire Service offers you a fulfilling and 

satisfying career. There has been a significant increase (5%) 

in those agreeing with this statement. 

. . . that you often recommend the Fire Service to others as a 

good place to work (71%). 

. . . that you agree that you often go the extra mile to ensure 

that the public receives excellent service (89%).

2008 

Employee Engagement 

The 2008 survey included a section on employee 

engagement. Employee engagement is defined as the 

relative strength of an individual’s identification with, 

and involvement in, and loyalty to a particular 

organisation or job. This is important to an organisation 

as staff engagement has a direct correlation to an 

organisation achieving its goals. 

A total of 38% of you identify yourselves as being 

engaged. This compares favourably with international 

research from the Corporate Leadership Council where 

11% of staff are highly engaged and 27% are ‘leaning 

toward engagement’. 

Staff that are engaged typically are: 

• overall more satisfied with the Fire Service 

• more willing to work additional hours 

• proud to tell others they are part of the Fire Service 

• more likely to recommend the Fire Service as a good 

place to work 

• more likely to go the extra mile to ensure that the 

public receives excellent service 

• more likely to understand what is expected of them in 

their role 

• more likely to agree that their contribution to the 

organisation is valued. 

You also told us that we should 

continue to focus on: 

. . . improving how we communicate and listen to 

our staff at all levels within the organisation 

. . . providing more opportunities for our managers 

and leaders to gain leadership skills. 

Watch this space in terms of ongoing 

work in this area as regional and 

national strategies are developed. 

Business 


15


Events 

No volunteers 

for crash test 

dummies 

Unsurprisingly, there were no volunteers 

from the Masterton brigade for a recent 

car impact exercise. 

Station officer Garry Nielsen was reported in the local 

paper as saying – tongue-in-cheek – that there were a 

few people in the Fire Service yard he would have liked 

to volunteer, but the emergency services would have to 

make do with crash test dummies. 

The exercise, however, had a serious message, as 

scrapped cars were dropped from 24 metres on to a 

concrete bulkhead to simulate an 80km/h head-on 

crash. 

The exercise was the first part of a joint operation with 

the Police Serious Crash Unit. It was assisted with the 

expertise of a local firm, Loader Engineering, whose 

staff – in their own time and cost – developed a 

mechanism that used an air compressor hose to trigger 

a release for the chained cars to ensure they hit the 

bulkhead square-on. 

Garry Nielsen is the national rapid vehicle extrication 

co-ordinator.

Minister gets Auckland tour 

The Auckland City Fire Area recently had the opportunity to demonstrate its capabilities 

to Local Government Minister Rodney Hide. 

The minister and local MPs were 

hosted by Area Manager Brian 

Edwards at area headquarters and 

Auckland City Fire Station. The visit 

was to introduce the newly 

amalgamated area to the local MPs, 

of which the minister is one. As well 

as profiling the operational capability 

of the area, crews demonstrated 

the range of services and appliances 

Budgets beware – Local Government Minister 

Rodney Hide might have been forgiven for 

pondering how he could trim some budgets 

when he got hold of a chainsaw during a visit 

to Auckland City Fire Station. 

offered, including the fire risk 

management resources for the 

community. 

Mr Hide was shown the benefits of 

conducting open homes following 

structure fires, the use of the Kitchen 

Demonstration Unit and the 

Children’s Wendy House trailer. Fire 

risk management publications were 

on display, as were the new Amber 

Events 

and Flint costumes highlighting some 

of the resources available for use. 

The minister watched a display of 

crews abseiling using high-angle 

rescue equipment, then took probably 

the best view of the CBD by being 

taken up in the cage of Parnell’s new 

Bronto aerial appliance. Before 

departing, Brian presented him with 

a commemorative plaque. 


17

Firefighters from Silverdale and East Coast Bays in Auckland were among the first on the scene at 

Orewa College on 24 June when a boiler exploded, badly injuring two workmen. One of them, 

caretaker Richard Nel, died the next day. The photo above shows one of the injured men being taken 

to a waiting Westpac rescue helicopter. The caretaker and a contractor were trying to fix the boiler 

when it exploded. Firefighters put out a minor fire at the scene. 

Matt lights up cooking demo 

The demonstration, in which a saucepan was 

deliberately set ablaze, caught the attention of the 

people who attended this year’s ‘Young at Heart’ 

wellbeing day. The live demonstration reinforced 

the ‘Keep looking while you are cooking’ message. 

The older people at the event had sat down to 

watch a healthy cooking display, but not before 

Matt’s stove fire and tips on how to get help in the 

event of a home fire. Matt also spoke to visitors 

about the importance of having working smoke 

alarms and told them that the Fire Service would 

respond personally to any requests for help changing 

smoke alarm batteries. 

Fire crews were also on hand during the day to advise 

visitors on fire safety and to check smoke alarms 

that were brought in to the event. They also ran a 

competition with free smoke alarms up for grabs. 

Photo: John Selkirk/The Dominion Post 

Elderly residents of New Plymouth could probably teach FSO Matt Crabtree a thing or two about 

cooking, but the tables were turned recently when he showed them how to deal with a stove fire. 


Events 

Matt Crabtree explains how best to put out a 

stove fire as a helper brings it under control. 

Photo: Lillian Scott

By Sandra K Bogart 

Whangarei celebrated more than 700 combined years of 

service, including two gold stars. 

SFF Mark Wirihana organised the evening as a send-off 

for Brown Watch’s Ray Bock and his wife Linda from 

Edmonton, Canada, and for Blue Watch’s Mike Quinn 

and his wife Kathy from the city of Ottawa in Ontario. 

They were on exchange with Scott Kitchen and Gina 

Gatman, and with Fraser and Sarah Wright respectively. 

AAC for the new Whangarei-Kaipara Area Bruce 

Emmerson, a two-year gold bar recipient for a total of 

42 years, said the Whangarei Brigade members had 

enjoyed the Canadians’ company. The Canadian 

firefighters and their wives said they loved New Zealand, 

which they said was like all the best parts of Canada 

wrapped up into the size of the state of Alberta. 

Long Service Good Conduct medals were awarded 

to Dave Blacklock, Corin Stephen and Paul Ballentine 

by FRM Trevor Andrews, who said the warranted 

Events 

Catching up with honours – 

Whangarei celebrates 

Whangarei Brigade members and 

Whangarei-Kaipara AAC Bruce Emmerson 

at the recent honours celebration. 

Planning a party to farewell two Canadian exchange firefighters recently escalated into the 

first honours evening in more than a decade for Whangarei, Northland’s only career brigade. 

medals were presented by the people of New Zealand. 

“What they represent to me is loyalty,” he added. 

Gold stars were awarded to Paul Thompson, whose 25 

years have all been in Whangarei and Adam Anderson 

who was a member of the Orere Point and Kamo brigades 

before joining Whangarei. 

Kaitaia CFO Colin ‘Toss’ Kitchen said the Whangarei 

Brigade was formed in 1902 after devastating fires in 

1899 and 1900. Charles Chisel and Charles Eccles were 

among the the first 200 firefighters in New Zealand to be 

awarded gold stars, in 1925. 

On a lighter note, SSO Bradley Cunningham was 

recognised with the Crash of the Year 2009 award for 

causing a bicycle accident in which several Fire Service 

staff on a training ride locked wheels and Brad cracked 

a few ribs. 

In all, 35 Whangarei firefighters were awarded overdue 

certificates, medals, bars and stars on June 27. 


19

By Brendon Irwin 

On 26 June at 1350 the USAR National Management Team received a request for USAR 

search dogs to respond to a building collapse in Manurewa, South Auckland. One person 

had already died and another four were missing. Two operational dogs from Task Force 3 

(Auckland) responded to assist with the search. 

If a similar incident occurred in Christchurch or any other 

populated urban area in the South Island, seven 

operational dogs from Task Force 2 (Christchurch) are 

ready to assist 24/7. 

But from the central North Island to Wellington – the 

most earthquake prone region in the country – no 

operational USAR dogs are attached to Task Force 1 

(Palmerston North). Two dogs are in trainingat 

Wanganui. 

New dog handlers are needed. 

The USAR Search Dog Association works in partnership 

with the Fire Service to ensure a search dog capability 

is attached to the USAR task force teams. 


Events 

USAR search dogs 

Dog handlers needed 

A National Search Dog Training Programme includes the 

support of a national trainer who has many years of dog 

training and operational experience as a dog handler. 

From the first steps of training to the point that dog and 

handler are operational is about 18 months. 

Being a USAR search dog handler is rewarding and a 

great experience, but also entails lots of hard work. If you 

are thinking about becoming a handler, ask yourself: 

• Do I have time to train a dog for a minimum of 

6-8 hours a week (both organised and self-directed 

training)? 

• Am I a team player who is keen to help others train 

their dogs?

Dog handlers around the country are a mix of civilians 

and firefighters. Three firefighters are currently also 

dog handlers – one based in Auckland and two in 

Christchurch. 

Firefighters make ideal dog handlers for several reasons: 

• They are experienced in working in emergency 

situations and the rescue environment. 

• Most hold the appropriate rescue qualifications 

required for a dog handler. 

• They adapt well to working in a team. 

If you’re keen but don’t have a dog, USAR can find a dog 

for you. This way we can ensure that the dog has the 

right attributes and play drive that a working dog needs. 

Even if you’ve never owned a dog, that’s fine as well. 

Sometimes the best handlers are those that come with no 

dog experience but are willing to learn and be guided 

along the way. 

If you have a dog, that’s great. If your dog is a full or 

mixed breed (preferably with a working breed component 

such as border collie, blue healer, labrador cross and 

has a high play drive which basically means the dog 

will do anything to play with a ball or toy, we could 

be interested. 

There are some requirements that first must be met before 

we accept a dog into the National Training Programme. 


Events 

These include: 

• At least eight months old and a maximum age of 

three years. 

• Shows no aggression to people or other dogs. 

• No dogs classed as menacing by breed according 

to the Dog Control Act 2006. 

• Has a high play/prey drive. 

• From a working background or breed. 

If you don’t have the time or inclination to be a handler 

but would like to help, you can ‘hide’ for the dogs during 

their training exercises. The dogs need to get familiar 

with finding strangers as part of the training. We need 

‘subjects’ in Auckland, Christchurch and Wanganui. 

Subjects don’t need to be firefighters, they can be anybody 

– partners, friends, family and children (over the 

age of 10 and not afraid of dogs). 

If you or anyone you know is interested, there will be 

an information night, followed by a dog testing oppor- 

tunity at the Palmerston North Fire Station at 7.30pm on 

Friday 25 September. Dog suitability testing will be on 

Saturday 26 September at 9.30am (location to be advised). 

For more information, please contact 

brendon.irwin@fire.org.nz 

Further information can also be found on the 

Search Dog Association website: www.usardogs.org.nz 

August 2009 

21

Auckland region 

celebrates volunteerism 

During Volunteer Awareness Week, Auckland Fire Region took the opportunity to recognise 

volunteerism across the region. 

Helensville Fire Brigade hosted an 

evening that incorporated the other 

emergency service groups in the 

area. These included Civil Defence, 

St John Ambulance, Shelly Beach, 

Muriwai and Kaukapakapa Rural 

Fire Forces, Helensville Lions and 

of course our own volunteer fire 

personnel. 

A highlight of the evening was a 

presentation by MP Tau Henare, who 


Events 

recognized the long hours put in by 

this group of volunteers and the key 

role they played in many similar 

communities across the country. 

Region management and leaders from 

the other emergency services echoed 

these views, with St John acknowledging 

the outstanding number of 

years of service put in by one of the 

attendees. John Old, 94, was a local 

bank manager who fundraised for 

From left, MP Tau Henare, AM Denis O’Donoghue, 

St John Ambulance Manager Patsy Carlyle and 

FRM Brian Butt celebrate volunteerism at a 

function hosted by Helensville Fire Brigade. 

the current ambulance station. He is 

also the oldest serving Lions member 

in Helensville and is a life member of 

Helensville Fire Brigade. 

The event also showcased the wide 

range of vehicles within the local 

emergency services fleet, with the 

new Type 1 appliance for Helensville 

and Ford Ranger Smoke Chaser 

for Muriwai creating some serious 

engine envy.

Signs the brainchild of 

Christchurch firefighter 

Edgy fire safety signs recently installed around Canterbury are the latest in a series 

initiated by SFF Wayne Hamilton of Christchurch City Blue Watch. 

The ‘black’ signs – depicting graphic 

images such as a skull in a frying pan 

– are targeted at young people 

particularly, with warnings about 

unattended cooking, frying, alcohol, 

overloaded plugs and heaters, smoke 

alarms and batteries. 

Wayne saw the opportunity a couple of 

years ago to promote the safety message 

in front of the central city station. 

“We get a lot of foot and road traffic 

coming past every day,” he says. “I 

thought we might as well get some 

signs out there that people will see.” 

He used some standard Fire Service 

images and key messages to design 

some draft signs and took a business 

plan to management with the support 

of SSO Bruce Irvine. Management 

endorsed the idea and funded 

production of the signs. About 40 

different signs are now available. 

Wayne wanted the signs to look 

professional and “not just slapped up 

in the window of the station”, so he 

enlisted the help of colleagues SFF 

Tom Mayo and SFF Steve Rule, who 

welded the metal frames in which the 

signs are displayed. They use a 

purpose-built jig at the Christchurch 

City station. 

A dozen frames with signs have been 

installed, with a further 20 ready to 

be sent to new sites. The 2m x 1m 

signs are double-sided, so two 

messages can be displayed at once, 

Wayne Hamilton with one of the new signs 

outside the Christchurch City station. 

Fire Safety 

and changing them is as easy as 

removing four bolts. 

They are displayed outside many of 

Canterbury’s career and volunteer 

stations. 

“They certainly seems to be noticed,” 

Wayne says. 

AM Dan Coward says the messages 

are “compelling and dramatic”. 

He has no concerns about them 

causing possible offence. 

“Fire safety continues to be our focus 

and the message is not being taken 

on board.” 

For more information, contact 

wayne.hamilton@fire.org.nz or 

bruce.irvine@fire.org.nz 


23

The Steelers crew lend their 

support to fire safety. 


Fun & Games 

Teaming up for fire safety 

The dangers of unattended cooking 

are all too real in South Auckland – 

and not just for the Fire Service. 

Phil McConnell, CEO of Counties Manukau 

Rugby, was sufficiently concerned about people 

drinking and frying in his catchment area that 

he approached Phil Faidley of the Pukekohe 

Volunteer Fire Brigade about teaming up with 

the Fire Service and promoting this important 

message to supporters. 

With support from Area Manager Larry Cocker 

and Senior Fire Risk Management Officer George 

Stephens, co-branded flyers and posters have 

been printed and will be distributed by Phil and 

members of his brigade at Steelers’ home games. 

“The message is simple,” says Phil. “Drinking 

and then frying steals too many lives so we’re 

reminding Counties Manukau rugby supporters 

not to come home from the clubrooms or the 

pub and cook themselves. 

“If they’ve had a few and are feeling hungry, 

it’s a much better idea to get something to eat 

in town, get a takeaway delivered or cook 

something in the microwave. But leave the frypan 

in the cupboard!” 

Good on Phil McConnell and Counties Manukau 

Rugby for being proactive in this area. 

Steelers fan Chris Barber from Port Waikato 

gets the message at the ground from 

Phil Faidley of the Pukekohe VFB. 

Photo courtesy of Richard Spranger Photography

Seven vie for volleyball glory 

Seven teams competed in this year’s Fire Service national volleyball tournament in Tauranga. 

By Michael Fleming 

Three were from the host city, with the others coming 

from Whangarei, New Plymouth, Wellington and 

Auckland (sorry, North Shore, as the team was quick to 

point out). 

On arrival at the venue there was a general discussion 

about one day putting together a separate masters 

tournament, but general consensus was that most players 

had probably already reached this point. The exception 

was North Shore, who arrived with a group of young, 

fit-looking players who could actually play volleyball. 

Hardly fair. 

A big welcome to the newcomers, the Stormers of 

New Plymouth. The team was voted most likely to be 

wearing a strange new outfit for each game. 

Day one saw all teams play each other twice in some 

evenly – if not all together legal – games to determine 

playing positions for the next day’s finals. Now you can 

call it competiveness, lack of warm-up or just general 

old age, but this packed schedule made for some tired 

bodies at the end of the day. On top of this there was one 

achilles strain, one shoulder strain, one back strain, 

one thumb and one ankle injury. 

Fun & Games 

Day two was finals day, with the standard of volleyball 

surprisingly high. 

The A grade final was contested between North Shore 

and Whangarei. If ever there was a ‘Young Guns versus 

the Old Guns’ game then this was it. In the best of three 

sets, the Young Guns from North Shore snuck through 

26-24. The B grade final went to the appropriately named 

Tauranga Dysfunctionals. 

Nine players were selected for the North Island volleyball 

team and congratulations go to: Fish, Malcolm, 

Karl and Chris from North Shore; Len, Mark and Ken 

from Whangarei; Woody from Wellington and Kiley from 

Tauranga. 

A huge thanks to Tauranga’s Kerry Gordon who almost 

single handedly organised the tournament, including 

airport pick-ups, shuttles to the hot pools and après 

volleyball venues. 

Next year’s tournament will be held in sunny 

New Plymouth, so we will see you there. 

The trip north was clearly too much for 

two of the Wellington competitors. 

North Shore and Whangarei battle it out in the 

A grade final, which North Shore won 26-24. 


25

Annual Rugby and 

Netball Tournament 

Napier 4-5 September 

Mark your diary for the annual Fire Service rugby and 

netball tournament at Napier on 4 and 5 September. 

Hosted by the Hawke’s Bay Fire Service Sports Club, the 

rugby section of the tournament will be at Tremain Field and 

the Old Boys Marist clubrooms. The netball venue is yet to 

be confirmed, depending on the number of teams entered. 

Most brigades will have received an information pack at 

the Hamilton tournament last year. Anyone else wanting to 

put together teams for the events listed below – and enjoy a 

fun-filled four days in beautiful sunshine and wine country 

Hawke’s Bay – can contact Graeme Day (details below). 

Information packs, including maps that show the venues 

and accommodate, are available now. 

15 a-side rugby 

Female netball (venue to be confirmed) 

Golden oldies rugby 

Contact: Graeme Day, Hastings Brown Watch. 

Ph: 06 876-6110. Email graeme.day@fire.org.nz 

or debbie.graeme@xtra.co.nz 

EKETAHUNA VOLUNTEER FIRE BRIGADE 

CENTENNIAL CELEBRATIONS 

Eketahuna VFB reaches the grand old age of 100 years 

and to celebrate the occasion, the brigade will be 

holding a weekend of events for present/past firemen 

and the public over Labour Weekend 23 – 26 October 

2009. If you would like to attend or have an article/ 

past knowledge of the brigade please contact Terry on 

06 375 8686, e-mail terry@brookfieldslodge.co.nz 

or write to Terry Carew, Brookfields Lodge, 

31 Alfredton Road, Eketahuna 4900. 

All the members of Eketahuna VFB hope you can attend, 

as it will be a weekend to remember, plus our new 

replacement 4WD Ute will be on show, which was 

purchased with donations and fund raising through 

Pub Charity, the Local Community and Eketahuna VFB. 

Hope you can make it? 


Noticeboard 

National 20/20 

Cricket Tournament 

The Fire Service’s inaugural national 20/20 cricket 

tournament will be hosted by the Hastings Brigade in 

Napier on 17-19 March next year. 

Malcolm McQuade of Hastings Green Watch says the 

tournament has been put together by those who have a 

keen interest in cricket: “Not necessarily any good at 

it, but just enjoy getting out in the summer sun with a 

bat, ball, and beer. We have tried to accommodate 

all styles of cricketers, both bad and crap.” 

Interested players should register soon as numbers are 

strictly limited and accommodation in Hawke’s Bay 

is at a premium during this time of the year. 

The Bluewater Hotel is sponsoring this event so 

email Rodney Green at www.bluewaterhotel.co.nz 

for accommodation bookings (leave a contact phone 

number) and he will sort you out. 

Registration forms are on Firenet. 

If you need more help or information, contact 

malcolm.mcquade@fire.org.nz or 027 2703296. 

New Zealand Fire Service 

National 20/20 Cricket 

Tournamant 

Host: Hastings Fire Brigade 

Venue: Nelson Park, Napier 

Cost: $995 per team which includes the following: 

4 Games + Semis & Finals 

Lunch provided daily 

Bluewater Sports Bar Discount Card 

(loaded with $100 bar tab) 

11 Tickets to a buffet dinner 

Daily spot prizes 

Umpires and balls 

Dates: 17th, 18th, and 19th March 2010 

Limited numbers due to pitches available 

Entries due by 31st December 2009 with a $500 deposit 

For more information or a team info pack please contact: 

Mal McQuade 

Hastings Green Watch 

027 270 32 96 

or email malcolm.mcquade@fire.org.nz

2009 

Sports Sports 

Calendar Calendar 

Get out those calendars 

because there are a few dates coming up 

that you best put a ring around. 

August 2009 

National Trout Fishing 

Tournament 

Turangi 

jim.prescott@fire.org.nz 

September 3 2009 

NZFS National Rugby 

Tournament 

Napier 

graeme.day@fire.org.nz 

October 6–9 2009 

National Golf 

Tournament 

Gisborne 

Gary.stratford@fire.org.nz 


August 2009 

National Alpine Ski 

Championships 

Ohakune 

ohakune@fire.org.nz 

September 2009 

South Island Basketball 

Tournament 

Twizel 

shane-tania@xtra.co.nz 

November 1–6 2009 

Australasian Fire Brigades 

Golf Championship 

Mandurah Country Club 

(80km from Perth) 

Ray.shields@fire.org.nz 

Ph: 07-347 2252 

August 30 2009 

Wellington Provincial 

Indoor Bowls Tournament 

Wellington 

denchy@xtra.co.nz 

October 2009 

September 5 2009 

Wellington Provincial F/B 

Driving Challenge 

Mansfield Race Way Feilding 

denchy@xtra.co.nz 

Sports Council regional sports 

committee meetings 

Contact your regional sports council rep for more details 

November 8 2009 

Wellington West Coast 

Golf Tournament 

Foxton Golf Club 

Warren.dunn@fire.org.nz 

Noticeboard 

If you know of 

an event missing, 

please contact 

Fire & Rescue 

August 2009 

27


Published August 2009 

By the New Zealand Fire Service 

Media, Promotions & Communications 

National Headquarters, Wellington 

www.fire.org.nz

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