Bay Harbour: January 17, 2018
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Wednesday <strong>January</strong> <strong>17</strong> <strong>2018</strong><br />
Latest Christchurch news at www.star.kiwi<br />
BAY HARBOUR<br />
PAGE 15<br />
News<br />
Road ‘madness’ fuels call-outs<br />
There was bit of madness on the road, but fire<br />
call-outs were surprisingly quiet, given the dry<br />
conditions. Sarla Donovan does a round up of how<br />
fire stations in the bays area fared over the holiday<br />
period<br />
THE AKAROA Fire Brigade<br />
was quiet between Christmas<br />
and New Year but since then it<br />
had “gone crazy”, said chief fire<br />
officer Mark Thomson, with<br />
about five call-outs last week to<br />
motor vehicle accidents.<br />
There has been two<br />
fatal accidents within<br />
the past four weeks.<br />
Motor vehicle accidents<br />
were on the increase<br />
as a proportion<br />
of the brigade’s work.<br />
Poor judgement, lack<br />
of knowledge about<br />
road rules, impatience<br />
and increasing volumes<br />
of traffic could all be<br />
contributing factors,<br />
said Mr Thomson.<br />
Only two fire call-outs had<br />
been taken over the holiday period,<br />
one a bonfire lit by campers<br />
trying to stay warm.<br />
“Everybody’s so aware of the<br />
risks since the Port Hills fires.”<br />
The number of call-outs had<br />
been about normal for the holiday<br />
period in Little River.<br />
There was “plenty of madness<br />
on the road, but luckily we didn’t<br />
have too much to do”, said Little<br />
River chief fire officer David<br />
Irving.<br />
Motor vehicle incidents made<br />
up a third of Little River’s 99<br />
call-outs last year, with fire and<br />
medical events each making up<br />
a third.<br />
The prospect of two new fire<br />
trucks arriving mid-year was<br />
something to look forward to,<br />
said Mr Irving.<br />
“We’ve probably got enough<br />
funding for our new support<br />
vehicle as well, which is due for<br />
replacement, so it could be a big<br />
year for us vehicle-wise.”<br />
Sumner Fire Brigade chief fire<br />
Mark Thomson<br />
officer Daryl Sayer said it had<br />
five call-outs between Christmas<br />
Day and <strong>January</strong> 11.<br />
None were serious, he said,<br />
adding that it was pleasing to<br />
see people were letting off fewer<br />
fireworks than normal.<br />
The brigade had 88<br />
call-outs during the<br />
year.<br />
Governors <strong>Bay</strong> chief<br />
fire officer Andrew Norris<br />
said 20<strong>17</strong> had been<br />
busier than usual with<br />
118 call-outs between<br />
<strong>January</strong> 1 and December<br />
31.<br />
The station averaged<br />
about 70 call-outs a year.<br />
Much of that increase<br />
could be put down to the Port<br />
Hills fires in February, Mr Norris<br />
said.<br />
It had also been a busy period<br />
since Christmas Day with seven<br />
call-outs to <strong>January</strong> 11.<br />
Three were motor vehicle accidents,<br />
including a fatal crash<br />
on Dyers Pass Rd.<br />
Two were “smoke chasers”<br />
– calls reporting sightings of<br />
smoke which turned out to be<br />
CRASH: The Akaroa Fire Brigade attended multiple vehicle accidents since New Year’s Day,<br />
including the crash above on <strong>January</strong> 5, in which no one was injured. <br />
clouds or dust. One call was<br />
about a tree that came down<br />
in strong wind and one was a<br />
false alarm at the Governors <strong>Bay</strong><br />
Hotel caused by water.<br />
Diamond <strong>Harbour</strong> chief fire<br />
officer Bob Palmer said the station<br />
had been relatively quiet<br />
with no fire calls since Christmas<br />
Day, though there had been<br />
Mark Buckley<br />
DEDICATED: Lyttelton Fire<br />
Brigade members have been<br />
training and fundraising for<br />
the Firefighter Sky Tower Stair<br />
Challenge in May.<br />
“a few medical calls as usual”.<br />
Recent rain had dampened<br />
tinder dry conditions and, on the<br />
whole, people were<br />
“pretty fire wise<br />
these days”, he said.<br />
Call numbers were<br />
slightly down on the<br />
average 100 for the<br />
year.<br />
Lyttelton Fire Brigade<br />
chief fire officer<br />
Mark Buckley said it<br />
had been quiet over<br />
the holiday period<br />
with only two or<br />
three minor calls.<br />
The station fielded 118 callouts<br />
over the course of the year,<br />
on a par with previous years.<br />
“The usual average is between<br />
110-130. It can be higher or<br />
lower, depending on weather<br />
and seismic events.” He<br />
said about seven brigade<br />
volunteers were starting<br />
to train for the annual<br />
Firefighter Sky Tower Stair<br />
Challenge in Auckland in<br />
May, a national fundraiser<br />
for leukaemia and Blood<br />
Cancer New Zealand.<br />
About 150 brigades take<br />
part, and Lyttelton was<br />
usually in the top two for funds<br />
raised, Mr Buckley said, averaging<br />
about $15,000.<br />
“We’re really proud of our guys<br />
that participate in that. We’ve<br />
got about three members within<br />
the team that are very passionate<br />
about what they’re fundraising<br />
for. They’re very diligent – every<br />
Saturday they’re along at the Lyttelton<br />
Farmers’ Market shaking<br />
the bucket.”<br />
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