Download PDF: Issue 27 - New Zealand Fire Service

Pictures: courtesy of Alan Thompson
Good on ya,
cobber
It’s not everyone’s idea of a great New Year’s break, but there was
no shortage of volunteers to take on some of the worst bushfires
in Australia’s history.
About 100 rural firefighters in
two deployments were sent to
Victoria to help with a fire season
that got underway much earlier,
and with much more ferocity, than
in previous years.
The first deployment included some
firefighters who had barely got
acquainted with the New Zealand
spring after a stint in the United States
before they were answering the call
of the three-country agreement and
heading over the Tasman.
6 Issue No. 27
Cover story
Victoria’s fires were no joke, burning
through over a million hectares of
land – an area the size of Jamaica.
However, experienced rural fire
manager Kevin Ihaka says it helps to
see your own part in the fire, rather
than worry about the bigger picture.
“There was an incident management
structure, breaking it down into
sectors. When you’re just dealing
with your line [of between three
and 10 kms], it’s a lot more
manageable.”
Manageable,
though, is a relative
term. The fires were
driven by conditions, and as a
result, firefighters were at the mercy
of wind changes.
“It was just a hard slog all the way,
with a lot of highs and lows. The
highs were being able to leave your
sector knowing it was under control,
and on the other hand the lows were
when we did a lot of work and the
fire just did its own thing.”