Download PDF: Issue 63 - New Zealand Fire Service

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Kaiapoi brigade rocked Four members of the Kaiapoi brigade lost their houses in the ’quake. Others aren’t certain what will happen to their jobs because the place where they worked was left uninhabitable. The station is damaged, the parking area has dropped by three-quarters of a metre and the station house (home to the Deputy Chief Fire Officer) is in bad shape. But they are a tight team and Chief Fire Officer Paul Delis is full of praise for their huge effort after the ’quake. “We spent days knocking down property and working through the destruction. The guys worked their arses off. It was a real strain physically, emotionally and in the long term financially,” he said referring to those who lost income during the period of the earthquake and who were unable to return to work for some time. There was one bright spot in the early days. “We were called out to a cardiac arrest and the guys managed to kick his heart back into life again. It was a huge morale boost,” said Paul. Like other brigades, they had to prioritise their work. “We would turn up to knock down a chimney or something and half a dozen other people would come up to the appliance and ask for us to help them do something. It was hard to turn them away but we eventually had to ask them to go through the Comcen so we could attend to the dangerous stuff first,” he said. 6 Issue No. 63
4.30am at Kaiapoi When the earthquake hit, one brigade crew was on its way to a small vegetation fire. Just as they were pulling up firefighter Tristan Roberts said they noticed blue flashing lights in the sky. “We thought it was lightning and hopped on the radio to say make pumps two but at the same time the woman at Comcen said there had just been a huge earthquake. Then the road started The New Zealand Fire Service Magazine rippling and we realised the blue lightning was in fact power wires arcing. The truck shook and lifted a little off the ground. The vegetation fire had been put out by the farmer so we headed back. There wasn’t a lot of damage until we got close to the station. Then we saw that the ground had dropped away, the fire house was on a lean and there was all this water and mud around. Earthquake News “It was worse for the guys who had missed going out on the appliance and were still at the station when the ’quake hit,” he said. SFF Hayden Law was one of them. He was outside when the ground started roaring and rocking and a huge split opened in the bitumen where he was standing (see cover photo). “It was incredibly scary,” he said. October 2010 7
Page 1 and 2: Earth October 2010 The New Zealand
Page 3 and 4: Earthquake News 7!1 Earthquake 4.36
Page 5: Vital input to maps and data The Da
Page 9 and 10: Going, going, gone It is not known
Page 11 and 12: Brooklands brigade standing strong
Page 13 and 14: In the central city area the USAR t
Page 15 and 16: The New Zealand Fire Service Magazi
Page 17 and 18: Blenheim residents recently got a c
Page 19 and 20: Brigades help volunteer project Wai
Page 21 and 22: Calendars now on sale Profits from
Page 23 and 24: 2010 Events Events Calendar Calenda

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