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Burn to learn
Uncovering the cause of a rural fire can
lead to initiatives that reduce the number
of wildfires.
So, investigating a rural fire takes its own set of
specialist skills.
A course for new wildlife investigators was held recently
in Christchurch and Manager Rural Fire Christchurch,
John Barnes, says it was developed for New Zealand
in cooperation with the United States, Canada, and
Australia wildfire agencies.
“Vegetation fires can often cover a wide area making it
very difficult to find indicators of the path of travel and
the cause. On our courses we set fires in various types of
vegetation to build up our skills. For instance we learn to
read the signs that show which way the fire travelled,
which helps bring us to the area of origin. Witnesses are
obviously also very important to our investigations.”
He says one of the most successful initiatives led to a
remarkable reduction in the hundreds of fires that used
to start alongside railway lines.
The New Zealand Fire Service Magazine
Fire Insight
“We worked very closely with railway staff and rural
fire authorities to bring in guidelines to cut down on
fires caused by railway operations, i.e. sparks from the
exhaust stack and brakes, mechanical breakdown,
track repairs, and other train operations.”
Marae safety taken seriously
All Te Wha - nau a Apanui iwi marae on the East Coast
have now been surveyed as part of the marae fire safety
programme thanks to the Waihau Bay volunteers.
The iwi has 13 marae from Cape Runaway to Hawai
Bay. It’s the first time an iwi has had all its marae
surveyed and a certificate was recently presented
to the brigade by National Advisor Ma - ori,
Piki Thomas, to recognise their effort.
Fire in gorse has its own
peculiarities and those
on a recent wildfire
investigation course in
Christchurch learned
what to look for when
trying to find the cause.
Ma - ori Liaison for the Bay Waikato & Eastern, Lana
Ngawhika, says this engagement would not have been
possible without the Waihau Bay volunteers’ iwi
connections. With their help, marae doors were opened to
Lana. “Together we carried out the surveys and as a result
of our reports some marae are now getting quotes
for hard-wired smoke detectors and sprinklers.”
The visit to Wairuru marae at Raukokore near Waihau Bay.
From left to right: Stuart Robertson (Waihau Bay brigade),
kauma - tua Mac Eruera, Tony Walker (Waihau Bay
brigade), Bill Green (Chief Fire Officer of
Waihau Bay brigade).
July 2010
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