Western News: September 04, 2018

WESTERN NEWS Latest Christchurch news at www.star.kiwi
Tuesday September 4 2018 5
News
Local
News
Now
Firefighters move into new Wigram base
Fire rages, homes at risk
• By Anan Zaki
THE NEW $7.4 million fire
station in Wigram was opened
on Friday.
The station replaces the old
Sockburn station at the former
Wigram Air Force base and will
be home to 28 firefighters.
Fire and
Emergency
Area Commander
Dave
Stackhouse
said the new
station will be a
state of the art
Dave
Stackhouse
facility.
“[It] has been
designed to
meet the future
needs of the Christchurch community.
“The new station is equipped to
deal with major events, including
self-sufficient water storage, an
on-site power generator and grey
water holding tanks,” Mr Stackhouse
said.
The new station’s location
on the corner of Wilmers and
Springs Rd, will put the crew in
a strategic position to support
other stations in the city, he said.
There will also be a purposebuilt
chemical decontamination
facility.
“It means the crew coming
back from a fire or emergency
can decontaminate in a clean
zone,” Mr Stackhouse said.
The new station is part of Fire
and Emergency’s $50 million city
rebuild programme.
It will see six career, one composite
(career and volunteer) and
three volunteer stations built in a
redevelopment of the city’s entire
network of fire stations.
Other stations that have been
completed are Anzac Drive,
Spreydon and Woolston.
“Fire and Emergency has provided
the foundation of a great
emergency service capability, one
that will contribute to Christchurch’s
protection and resilience
for many years.
“This rebuild programme
represents a significant organisational
investment and has
provided a unique opportunity to
build a future-proofed network
of stations in Christchurch that
meets community needs and
addresses an ever-changing call
type and demand.”
NEW STATION:
Duty fire crew
outside the new
Wigram fire
station. From
left – Adam
Milne, Liam
Sergeant, Ed
Love and Greg
Koppert.
Sockburn Station first opened
in 1956 in its original location
on the corner of Blenheim and
Watts Rd.
It relocated to the former
RNZAF Wigram fire station in
1997.
In 2017, firefighters in
Wigram Station responded to
1526 incidents in their area.
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