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Boomtown station gets an upgrade By Debbie Jamieson 14 Issue No. 27 My Patch SO Roydon Cullimore with the fire station’s old call out method. As Queenstown goes through an unprecedented growth spurt, a $300,000 station upgrade has ensured Queenstown’s Volunteer Fire Brigade can continue to meet the community’s needs. The resort’s accommodation and development sectors are booming and the subsequent ongoing population growth means the brigade is facing increasing demand for its services. But sky-rocketing house prices are making it increasingly difficult for volunteer firefighters to live in the resort. Not a crew to be easily defeated, the brigade solved the problem by building four new bedrooms on the central- Queenstown fire station last year. Now four volunteers and two partners live on the station and other brigade members, particularly those who live further out of town, stay in the fifth bedroom on weekends following a roster system. Fire chief Bob Robertson says it has been the best new development at the station in years. “The trouble we were having was with our weekend manning. Now we can assure ourselves and everyone else
we’ve always got a crew ready to turn out on weekends.” And living on the station has benefits for the crew as well. Station officer Roydon Cullimore says the station has become a social epicentre for the brigade and a camaraderie has developed between the firefighters. “We live together and eat together. We know each others’ weaknesses and strengths so we’re a really strong team.” Station officer Doug Smith has only one regret about the upgrade. “I’m just disappointed that the bedrooms are upstairs and we haven’t got a pole,” he says. The volunteer crew of nearly 40 typically turns out to more than 300 calls a year. In the year to the end of June 2006 that included 181 false alarms (including good intent), 46 vehicle accidents and 13 structure fires. The transient nature of the resort has meant a high turnover of staff, around 13 members a year, and a focus on training within the brigade. Deputy chief Terry O’Connell says most new recruits are at their first major course within four months – a credit to the brigade’s training officers – and those that do leave usually join other brigades where their skills and training are appreciated. CFO Bob Robertson with the Queenstown hardware. In recent years the brigade has received a huge boost from sending seven Queenstown members and one from nearby Frankton to the two-week Brisbane-based Volunteer Officer 1 course. “That course is worth 10 to 15 years experience,” Terry says. “It’s live action and real heat and man do they get some confidence and know-how out of it.” A full contingent of engines – a front-runner, 3-stage pumps, tele-squirt and specialist 4WD rescue and caff unit, enables them to carry out their work. My Patch The 4WD is essential given the mountainous and often snow covered terrain the brigade works in and the number of call-outs to ski fields (where there are up to 3000 traffic movements a day) and secluded, bush-clad million dollar homes, O’Connell says. “We’re bloody isolated here. It’s all very well having helicopters to use but there are times when they’re simply not practical.” The other big change at the brigade recently has been the end of the night-time fire siren since the introduction of new and more efficient pager systems to alert volunteers. SO Doug Smith and partner Nikky Harvey relax in one of the new bedrooms. Queenstown’s mountainous terrain meant the former signal had limited reception and many firefighters were forced to carry two pagers. The fire brigade bell and later the siren have been a familiar sound to locals since 1863 and a curiosity to millions of overseas tourists who were never sure how to react. Queenstown hoteliers, who were not fans of the night time noise when their occupants were woken, sometimes more than once a night, are thrilled with the new system. Life does not stand still in Queenstown and now that the changes to the station are complete the brigade is fast moving on to its next project – preparing for the United Fire Brigades Association (UFBA) conference and competition in 2009. “We know that the conference and competitions we held in 1977 and 1995 were very popular so we’re expecting a big crowd in 2009,” Bob says. He is confident that with the recent developments the Queenstown volunteers are ready to meet any challenge the future may bring. “I am very proud of the team we’ve got here at the moment. They’ve got really great skills and they’re dedicated to looking after the people of this district.” The New Zealand Fire Service Magazine January / February 2007 Pictures: Johanna Parsons 15
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