Download PDF: Issue 83 - New Zealand Fire Service

September 2012 / Issue 83
Whanganui
Focus
Plus
IS It a bIrd…?
InSIde pacIfIc helmetS

the new zealand fIre ServIce from crIme fIghtIng
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ISSN: 1176-6670 (Print)
ISSN: 1177-8679 (Online)
front cover
Firefighters battle a roof fire at the
Napier Ravensdown fertiliser works,
Napier, Tuesday, July 31.
KAMPIC / KeRRy MARSHALL
2 / Fire+Rescue / September 2012
to fire fighting
Former Police Deputy
Commissioner Rob Pope
joins the Fire Service
this month as the first
Director of the Office of
the Chief Executive.
The new role was put in place following
the recent restructure of the NZFS
senior management team. The role
provides leadership for NZFS
organisational strategic development,
business planning, performance and
accountability functions. He will also
provide policy and strategic advice to the
Chief Executive and the Commission.
Rob retired from his Police career last year
and has been working as a consultant.
He said the NZFS is a good fit for his
strategic and management skills and
meets his personal commitment to serving
the public.
“There are strong similarities between the
Police and Fire. The Fire Service is well
recognised for its focus on communities
and for the quality of its emergency
response capability. I have great respect
for the way firefighters and other staff
engage with the public and I’m looking
forward to meeting many of them.”
Rob said the Fire Service had a great
reputation and he was honoured to be
given the opportunity to contribute to the
organisation’s strategic direction.
Rob has led some of New Zealand’s most
high-profile police investigations including
the death of 20-year-old Lisa Blakie in
2000, the murders of Olivia Hope and Ben
Smart in the Marlborough Sounds in 1998
and the “poisoned professor” case in 1992.
He was promoted to National Crime
Manager in 2002, Wellington District
Commander in 2004 and to Deputy
Police Commissioner in 2006.
The latter role included developing the
Organised Financial Crime Agency and
planning policing arrangements for the
Rugby World Cup.
NZFS Chief Executive Paul Baxter says
he’s delighted to have secured Rob for his
senior leadership team and looks forward
to welcoming him when he takes up the
role later this month (September).

learnIng
opportunities
Like other fire and rescue services
around the world, we are coming
under increasing scrutiny by
Government, the public and courts for
the way we conduct ourselves. Whether
it is the way we manage public funds,
the quality of our service to the public
or the way we manage our health and
safety responsibilities. As an
organisation we are also expected, and
are committed to, improving our
performance wherever possible. This
means making ever-more efficient use
of our funding and making the most of
every operational and organisational
learning opportunity.
Over the coming months, there will be
considerable public and Government
focus on the NZFS. I welcome that
focus as an opportunity for us to learn
and improve.
The report from the Ministry of Civil
Defence and Emergency Management
of the Christchurch earthquake
response will provide everyone involved
with a broader insight into the overall
response, inter-agency relationships,
what worked well and what could be
changed for the better.
All agencies have already learned a
lot as a result of their experience at the
Christchurch earthquakes. By looking
at the national disaster response,
as a whole, agencies have another
opportunity to tweak aspects of their
operations or organisational practices
so that they can be even better
prepared for the next big disaster.
I am also keen for our front line staff
to seek out, and make the most of,
any chance they get to train or work with
other emergency services. We are being
called to an increasing number of natural
disasters or major incidents that require
the close co-operation between many
different responding agencies. The more
we can build up our experience of
working together, the better able we are
to manage the big incidents.
At the end of October, the Coroner’s
inquest into the deaths at the CTV
building will hear evidence relating to
the death of Dr Tamara Cvetanova. As
part of this hearing, the Coroner will be
looking at the search and rescue effort
at the CTV building. As you may know,
her husband believes the rescue could
have been done differently. The inquest
will give the public an opportunity to
learn the details of the search and
rescue effort and should provide a
better understanding of what everyone
faced in the first few days.
editorial
Paul Baxter visits Wellington City Station.
Shortly, we will also be releasing an
independent review that has more
closely examined aspects of the first 12
hours of our response in Christchurch.
We will work closely with staff in
Christchurch, and further afield, to
develop any local or national
improvements that are recommended.
It is my intention to take the outcomes
of this second review and consider them
alongside the actions that are already
underway as a result of our operational
response review. From there, we will
decide how we will address any
improvements that have been identified.
Finally, you may also have heard that the
Government is to review the functions
and funding of the Fire Service. This
review looks at ways to improve the
insurance-based levy arrangement for
funding the Fire Service and better
recognise the broader, non-fire incidents
we attend. It will also look at whether
there are gaps or overlaps between
emergency services. We support this
review as the services we provide are far
broader now than they were when the
levy was first introduced. I believe we
need a clearer mandate for the services
we provide, and that our legislation
needs to better reflect the reality of
today’s fire and emergency service.
Paul Baxter
Chief Executive & National Commander
Fire+Rescue / September 2012 / 3

New TAPS programmes
for volunteers
Volunteers around the
country will get new,
easier-to-follow training
material next year.
The National Training team started
the project almost two years ago by
talking with volunteers and trainers
to find out what they needed and wanted
from their training programmes. They then
sat down with writers and NZFS subject
matter experts to develop the new TAPS
(Training and Progression System)
material. This includes study guides,
training and consolidation logs, trainer
manuals and support material and brigade
training guides.
The new modules are a high octane
concentration of the firefighting and
incident-response essentials. The practical
courses have also been changed to match
the new material.
Project co-ordinator Andrea Avelar
said “Volunteers don’t have a lot of time
to spend on studying, so we had to come
up with training material to cover what
they need to know, not what might be
nice to know.”
4 / Fire+Rescue / September 2012
The new modules for Qualified Firefighter,
Senior Firefighter and Station Officer are
similar to the volunteer recruit training
modules that were introduced in 2010.
“We’ve had very positive feedback from
recruits, who find the format and contents
much easier to learn from than the dense
modules of the past,” said Andrea.
National Advisor Operations John
Sutherland helped decide on some of the
content of the new volunteer TAPS material.
“The old training manuals have pages and
pages of writing. They might take half a
dozen pages to teach something that we
have slimmed down into a couple of
photographs, a few bullet points and a
paragraph or so of writing,” he said.
The final touches are now being put to the
new training material. They will start being
made available to volunteers early next
year. Details on how the transition to the
new programmes will be made will be
released in a few months.
Study guide illustrations for the Conducting
Drills Module, featuring members of the
Titahi Bay Brigade.

ealIgnment 2012
What brigades can
expect from their VSO
A brigade’s vital link to resources,
support, advice and information is
their Volunteer Support Officer (VSO).
The Fire Service has increased the number
of VSOs to 52, who are evenly spread
throughout the regions and working to the
new position description.
As an Area Manager, Brendan Nally has a
special interest in volunteer brigades and
is championing their needs in the
transition to the new Fire Service regional
structure. This includes helping VSOs and
brigades understand what the newly
defined role is expected to achieve.
“The thing everyone has to keep in mind is
that one of the key goals of the region
restructure was to provide brigades with
better support and for that support to be
the same wherever they are in the
country,” said Brendan.
A VSO’s purpose is to help brigades to be
operationally ready, to make sure the local
fire risk is identified and managed, that
brigade resources are organised and
coordinated, and the sustainability of the
brigade is maintained.
“They are there to build capability, not
dependency, within the brigades,” he said.
The level of support each brigade needs
will vary depending on the skill sets and
make up of its members. It will be up to
Area Managers to meet the brigades’
differing needs; and they will be relying
heavily on capable and effective VSOs to
achieve this.
The role has changed in some significant
ways. VSOs will no longer deliver formal
training. However, they will help arrange
training and liaise with training officers
when needed. Fleet and property-related
work are also disappearing from the VSO’s
workload as the transition takes hold. This
work will be done by staff in the region
service centres or contractors.
“This frees up VSOs to really focus on their
brigades. Brigades expect their VSO to be
available to them, and to be
knowledgeable, reliable, adaptable and
capable. It is the responsibility of the
NZFS to make sure these staff have the
skills and enthusiasm to meet brigades’
expectations,” said Brendan.
Top: Titahi Bay Brigade members during a ladder drill.
Above: Brendan Nally
He accepts that it will take time to assess
just what additional training and skill
development individual VSOs may need to
fully equip them for the new role. However
this is a priority for Area Managers and a
formal TAPS-like framework is proposed
for the future.
In the meantime, the transition period
will allow everyone to gradually settle
into their new roles until the new regime
is fully implemented. This is likely to take
some months.
Fire+Rescue / September 2012 / 5

Pacific helmets
behind the brim
New Zealand firefighters
can be confident their
helmets will survive a
hefty bash with a hunk
of wood, a strike by a jet
propelled ball bearing or
being crushed between
a rock and a hard place.
They’ll also withstand flame and heat and
electric shocks.
‘Safety without compromise’ is the motto
of Pacific Helmets – the makers of the
New Zealand Fire Service firefighter’s
helmet. And they put helmets coming off
the production line through frequent
random spot testing to make sure of it.
The Whanganui manufacturer is a world
leader. It supplies helmets to emergency
services in over 80 countries and, as a
result, has the biggest range in the world.
It employs around 75 local people and
almost all the raw materials used in the
manufacturing process are locally sourced.
6 / Fire+Rescue / September 2012
Pacific Helmets has supplied helmets to
NZFS since 1985 and will shortly start
production on a new European style
helmet which will serve as both a fire and
rescue helmet.
The business’s owner and Managing
Director is David Bennett. David started
out working for Suzuki in the 1970s when
they were manufacturing motorbike
helmets. He started as finance manager,
moved up to general manager and then
bought the company in 1982, changing the
name to Pacific Helmets.
Business Booms
The turning point for the company came in
the early 1990s when the new compulsory
cycle helmet legislation was introduced.
“We took on extra staff and had around
100 people working seven days a week
making thousands of helmets a month. In
the last month before the cycle helmet law
came into force we made 29,000 of a total
exceeding 200,000 for 12 months.
However, within a short time, competition
from cheaper cycle helmet imports
encouraged the company to shift its focus
onto making only helmets for emergency
services. “We had won a tender with the
Fire Service in 1985 and decided to
concentrate on that side of the business.”
Then in 1990 the company sold new fire
helmets to the London Fire Brigade, and
this opened the way to market the designs
internationally, especially in Europe.
David’s son, Sales and Marketing Director
Grant Bennett, said “In the next 12 months
we expect to manufacture around 90,000
helmets and supply to new distributors
throughout the world.”
He said there are huge differences in the
international helmet designs and
specifications. For instance, United States
firefighters have been wearing the same
helmet design for generations although
there have been significant improvements
to the resilience of the materials used
to make them. The Japanese helmet has
a completely different standard as their
firefighters rarely enter a building that is
on fire.
new standard
The new NZFS helmet is being made to the
newly adopted Australia/New Zealand
standard for structure firefighting helmets.
This standard combines the best
features of both the European and US
standards but is focused more on
Australian/New Zealand conditions and
operational philosophies.
“The purpose was to improve safety and
encourage firefighters to wear the helmet
inside fire appliances,” said David.
Most of the helmets made by Pacific
Helmets are made of Kevlar and fibre glass
around a plastic injection moulded liner.

We work very
closely with the
New Zealand Fire
Service to develop
and trial new ideas
and improvements.
“We do our own research and development
to keep up with new technology and
changes in standards,” said David. The onsite
laboratory contains a range of
enclosed equipment for various tests,
including a ballistic test (where a ball
bearing is fired at a helmet), crush test
equipment, flame and heat tests. There’s
also a resistance and snap test to check
the strength of chin straps.
“We work very closely with the New
Zealand Fire Service to develop and trial
new ideas and improvements, so we
regularly send out prototypes to
firefighters for them to trial and send in
their feedback. It’s a great way to make
sure what we are doing really meets the
needs of the people who’ll be wearing
them,” he said.
The new NZFS fire and rescue helmet will
start to be issued as a replacement helmet
later this year.
Top: Staff assemble a variety of helmets for different
customers. Middle: Grant Bennett shows off the
crush test dummy in the lab. Right: David Bennett,
founder of Pacific Helmets.
Fire+Rescue / September 2012 / 7

Feature
Focus on
whanganui
The two outlying suburbs of Whanganui can’t be reached within the ideal NZFS
response time of eight minutes so Acting Area Manager Gary Ward has a plan.
He’s working with the station crews to
set up a programme of community
education, including home fire
safety checks and smoke alarm detection.
“We want to encourage residents in
Castlecliff and Aramaho to reduce their fire
risk and make sure they have early warning
if there is a fire,” he said.
The urban turnout area from the Whanganui
station stretches for over 4.5 km in one
direction to Castlecliff and 7.4 km in the
other to the outer edges of Aramaho.
Whanganui station has two crews on duty
24/7 and Gary says they have to be pretty
self-reliant.
“Our nearest backup is the volunteer
brigades at Ratana and Waitotara but both
struggle with day crewing. So, often, our
backup is the brigades from Marton and
Bulls. We have to accept that the two
pumps will be on their own for at least 20
minutes before help can arrive at a major
8 / Fire+Rescue / September 2012
incident.” He says this has led to the guys
learning to make do with the resources
they have.
Whanganui Area has 14 volunteer brigades
and a career station with operational
support volunteers. Gary Ward is in
charge for the time being. He recently took
over from newly retired Area Manager
Kevin Smith, who left with 44 years under
his belt. In Whanganui, the Area Manager
is also the Principal Rural Fire Officer,
so Gary also has responsibility for
managing the rural fire risk, working
closely with the local district council.
With two main state highways through the
area there is the potential for some gnarly
accidents, particularly on State Highway 4
through the winding hills to Raetihi and
Ohakune. The brigades and Whanganui
station turn out to over 150 rescue
emergencies in the area each year, and
attended a total of almost 1,400 incidents
last year (2011/2012).
whanganui Brigade incidents
Gary was appointed Assistant Area Manager in Whanganui in 2009.
He arrived in New Zealand in 2000 after spending 10 years in the
Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service and prior to that he was a
firefighter with the British Naval Air Command. His first position on
arrival in New Zealand was as a training officer and then he took over
management of simulation training. “Having a diverse background
and appling it to my current role gives me a different perspective,
and I’ve used what I have learned.”
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away from StatIon
There’s a big advantage to
working in the Whanganui station
– it’s not too far from the big outdoors.
And at least two of the staff are making
the most of the lifestyle offered by the
surrounding countryside.
Just a few minute’s drive north from
Whanganui is the turnoff to Makirikiri
Valley. Part of the area is home to one of
the country’s first fallow deer herds. For
Station Officer Aaron Summerhays, deer
stalking is a passion and he’s now offering
up his services as a hunting guide.
“I have an arrangement with a local
farmer with 2,500 acres of land where
we can shoot on.”
Aaron is particularly interested in taking
out family groups. “I have been hunting
since I could walk in gumboots and got
my firearms licence at 16. Since then
I’ve been out hunting all over the country
and I’m keen to pass that knowledge
on to the younger generation.” He has
been focusing on father and son (or
daughter) guided trips.
Aaron’s wife Sarah and oldest daughter
Briar are also deer stalkers. “My two
youngest children are keen to come out
but they’re too little and looking after
them holds Sarah back a bit as well.”
Aaron Summerhays and two youngsters
who had a great time out on their first hunt.
The family makes the most of the
venison he brings home and he’s now
about to build a shed where he can do
his own processing and make sausages
and salami.
Aaron’s most memorable hunt was in
the central North Island on a cold and
frosty April morning. He could hear two
red stags roaring in the distance and
began approaching stealthily. Just as
he got to the crest of a hill one of the
stags came bellowing up the other side.
“A quick shot stopped it in its tracks only
seven metres away from me,” said Aaron.
“I could still hear the second stag and
crossed over a gorge to find it. It was a
better trophy so I managed to roar it up
into a small clearing to get my shot.”
He was at least five kilometres away
from his quad bike and could see he had
a tough job ahead to get his deer out of
the bush.
“But it was my lucky day. Just as I was
working out what to do, a helicopter
landed in the clearing. The pilot was
dropping off another hunter and after
he congratulated me on my 12-pointer,
he flew me and the deer back in two trips
to my quad.”
pet project
Feature
Also up the Makirikiri Valley is Senior
Station Officer Bryce Coneybeer’s
new project – a pet crematorium.
Like a lot of firefighters, Bryce is quick to
build or fix just about anything he wants.
But he was beaten into submission by the
red tape when it came to building his own
pet crematorium and ended up having to
import one from England.
Bryce and his wife Sandy live off the grid
up the valley, running their home on solar
power and doing all their cooking on a
wood-fired stove which also heats their
hot water. The crematorium is dieselheated
to 850-1,000 degrees.
“There’s no facility like this in Whanganui
and until I came along the SPCA and dog
pound had been taking their euthanased
animals to the rubbish tip, which isn’t
ideal. We give them a much better send off
and bury the ashes on our land,” he said.
Bryce is also considering setting up a
remembrance garden for people who need
somewhere to bury their pet’s ashes. He
hasn’t got a name for the pet crematorium
yet and is open to suggestions.
Whlle Bryce couldn’t build a compliant
crematorium he has used his engineering
skills to develop some of the other essential
equipment for his project – a special
vacuum cleaner and a grinding machine.
Now that this project is up and running, he’s
turning his attention to the possibility of
another, involving water tanks.
Bryce Coneybeer and the nervous-looking family
pet Chuck atop the crematorium.
Fire+Rescue / September 2012 / 9

Feature
SanSon Safer
with smoke alarms
During a recent home fire safety blitz by the Bulls Brigade, one volunteer was chased
into a house by an angry sheep while another resuscitated a dog that had collapsed.
The townships of Bulls and Sanson are five
kilometres apart and the brigade responds
to around 70 calls a year in the two towns.
A few years ago, the brigade visited all the
homes in Bulls to provide a home fire safety
check and install smoke alarms in sleeping
areas and hallways. They took with them a
collection of pamphlets and materials from
various government and local agencies to
alert residents to various services and
assistance that were available.
10 / Fire+Rescue / September 2012
Chief Fire Officer Brian Carter said “It took
us over two years to visit all the Bulls
homes because the project ran out of
funds half way through.” After finishing
that project, the guys took a bit of a break,
and then picked up the task of installing
smoke alarms in Sanson.
“The Sanson community were really
enthusiastic and raised $12,500 from their
weekly markets to pay for the alarms. We
have just finished installing one long life
alarm in every hallway and an ordinary
photoelectric alarm in every bedroom or
sleeping area.”
With 250 houses to cover the brigade
divided the town into sectors and steadily
worked their way through the streets,
block by block, weekend by weekend. They
did a home fire safety check and within
three months had installed or checked
smoke alarms in every house except two,
whose occupants refused to take part.
Their success wasn’t without a bit of pain.
‘Phatz’ Taiaroa has yet to forget her
adrenalin-inspired race to safety after
being charged at by a hefty ram. “I took off
up the steps and into the house and it
came right in after me,” she said.
Apparently the ram was no stranger to the
inside of the house.
John Bowen now has the ‘dog life-saving’
award. While he was at one house, their pet
keeled over. He whipped back to the
appliance, grabbed the oxygen and a mask
and managed to revive the dog. “All part of
the service,” he said.
By visiting all the houses, the brigade was
also able to draw people’s attention to the
overhanging trees and bushes up their
driveways. “There were a lot of houses
that we couldn’t get an appliance close to,”
said Brian. He said they had to do a lot of
explaining about how fast a fire could
spread while the brigade was trying to
unroll a hose and get it up a long driveway
before they could start their attack.
Top: The Bulls Brigade takes a moment to celebrate
their success installing smoke alarms in Sanson.
Left: From left John Bowen, Brian Carter,
‘Phatz’ Taiaroa.

lookIng beyond
the obvious
The Bulls Brigade reckons there’s a lesson for other
firefighters in the fatal truck crash in the town last month.
A Dannevirke driver died after his truck
and trailer unit smashed into the Bulls RSA
at about 3.30am, causing major damage
to the building.
The truck was heading south and Police
believe it failed to take a slight bend before
the crash.
Bulls Chief Fire Officer Brian Carter said
“We did a 360 around the incident scene
when we got there and were worried
because a live wire that feeds the street
light was under the truck along with wiring
that had been ripped out of the building.
We checked around for any obvious
leakage or spills. Once we got the cab door
open we found some documents that
indicated flammable liquid in the left rear
of the trailer. However, this wasn’t the
case; instead we found plumbing bends
and electric goods. It wasn’t until about 20
minutes into the incident that we found the
full manifest. It was not in the driver’s door
where it should have been but in between
the driver’s and passenger seats which we
couldn’t get to until we got the driver out.”
He said the first set of documents
they found showed only one pallet of
cylinders on board when in fact there was
much more.
“The whole truck unit was full of
cylinders. There was also no hazmat
information as the usual hazardous goods
signs on the front and the rear of the truck
were not on display.”
Brian believes the double-sided display
sign had flipped over on impact and
instead of showing the hazardous
substance warning it was showing the
Drive Safe message.
“It just shows you can’t take anything for
granted,” he said.
Despite this issue, Brian said the brigade
handled the event very well and he was
pleased with the way everyone got to work
at what was a very serious incident.
Bulls Brigade incidents
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Feature
from the
cradle to the
reSt home
The very young and the elderly
are two of the high fire risk
groups targeted by Fire Service
community education activities.
So Whanganui staff have joined forces
with Plunket and Age Concern to take
advantage of the visits made to homes
by Plunket nurses and care providers.
Assistant Area Manager David Utumapu
said by working in partnership with the
two community agencies, the Fire
Service is able to have at-risk homes
identified for them.
The staff from Plunket and Age
Concern have been briefed on how to
identify potential fire hazards in the
homes they visit.
“If they spot something they think could
do with a follow-up visit from us, we
send in a crew to carry out a full home
fire safety check, install alarms, provide
escape route advice and so on –
whatever is needed,” he said.
A similar project in partnership with
ACC service provider Te Ara Hau
resulted in 41 at-risk homes being fitted
with smoke alarms.
Celebrating the first smoke alarm. From left:
Tracy Lynn (Age Concern), Charles Bilby,
James Arnott, Kay Taylor (Age Concern) and
Carolyn Cameron (Plunket).
Fire+Rescue / September 2012 / 11

It’S a tough lIfe for Some
A Porirua crew recently packed
a picnic lunch and enjoyed a day
out at picturesque Mana Island to do
a bit of takahe spotting and review
their tactical plan.
Porirua station is the first to respond
if there’s a fire on Mana Island – a
Department of Conservation scientific
reserve about 10 minutes’ boat ride
from Porirua.
Station Officer Gerald Twiss and his crew
sailed over with the DOC Deputy Principal
Rural Fire Officer Rachael Thorp and
Porirua Principal Rural Fire Officer Peter
Chapman to familiarise themselves with
the area and its special needs.
“If there’s a fire, two helicopters will be
sent over, one with the first Porirua crew
and equipment and the second with a
monsoon bucket,” said Gerald.
The Wellington hazmat/command unit
also responds and will park up on a nearby
hill to manage the communications.
“There are 10 different buildings on the
island, including four houses and an
historic woolshed that recently had a
sprinkler system installed. There are a few
fIre In your neIghbourhood
A freakish series of incidents in one
Porirua street within a few hours of
each other has prompted a home fire
safety blitz.
The on-duty crew were called first to
Miranda Street where they pulled an
unconscious man out of his kitchen after
a ‘drinking and not looking while cooking’
incident. A short time later they were
called back to the neighbouring house
after the residents tried to oven-bake their
food in a plastic container. While they were
there, they were alerted to a smell of gas at
12 / Fire+Rescue / September 2012
hazardous chemicals in a store but DOC
has good fire prevention practices in
place,” he said. There are also tapu and
archaeological sites where digging is not
permitted, even if there’s a fire.
Fires on Wellington Regions Mana,
Kapiti and Matiu/Soames Islands are all
likely to need Fire Service help, particularly
if the fires take hold. To help prepare
themselves, the Porirua crews have been
building up their national certificate
qualifications in over the past year or so
to develop their skills.
DOC Deputy Principal Rural Fire Officer
Rachael Thorp said if there’s a fire on Mana
Island, a rural fire team would be assembled
and sent over within an hour but the Porirua
crew would be first to get there.
“We have never had a structure fire on
Mana Island and we’re careful to keep fuel
supplies at a minimum, all the buildings are
kept clear of any vegetation and we don’t
allow anyone to use candles,” she said.
Nearby Kapiti Island is in the turnout area
for Paraparaumu station and a crew from
there will review their tactical plan and visit
the island later this month.
the next house along the street. The family
was using a barbecue indoors.
There were so many home fire safety
action points to pick up on that Station
Officer Craig Gold and his crew returned
the next day to carry out some home fire
safety checks and drop off some useful
leaflets. A more intensive campaign is now
being planned.
Porirua senior firefighter Graham Collins attended all
three incidents and is ready to distribute some Fire
in Your Neighbourhood pamphlets.
Above Top: Rachael Thorp and Peter Chapman.
Above Middle: Gerald Twiss (centre) and the rest of
the group head out to Mana Island.
Above: Getting to know the locals.

Bird’s eye view
Staff in Christchurch will
soon be trialling the New
Zealand Fire Service’s first UAV
(Unmanned Aerial Vehicle).
The small drone aircraft were originally
designed for military use but are showing
potential for emergency services wanting
an aerial view of an incident ground.
NZFS will be trialling a Darley Stinger
and Chief Executive Paul Baxter said
drones like the Stinger are a rapidly
developing technology.
“Some emergency services, particularly
Police, have started picking up on the UAVs
and their high resolution camera
technology. We are interested in seeing how
they might be useful for us, not just for fires
but also for hazmat situations,” he said.
The Fire Service staff will start with baby
steps, using a practice drone and then
moving on to the Stinger with an on-board
thermal imaging camera and streaming
video camera. Paul said if the trial is
successful the Stinger will be rolled out
nationally and made available for rural
firefighting.
The United States company, W.S. Darley
Co, supplies a wide range of fire fighting
equipment, and is better known in
New Zealand for its pumps.
The Darley Stinger is a remotely-controlled
helicopter which weighs just two kilos and
is about one metre in diameter.
Darley’s Chief Operating Officer Peter
Darley said the company released a
demonstration model two years ago after
realising there was a need for a tool that
could be used to survey any type of
incident – from a large-scale fire to border
patrol and military recon exercises.
He said “Darley developers are working
with some of the early adopters to ensure
proper knowledge and training.”
One of the early adopters of a similar UAV
is the Melbourne Metropolitan Fire Brigade
which has been testing a Cyber Quad and
is now evaluating the results. Commander
Will Glenn is heading up the project and
says they now have over a dozen pilots
trained to use the UAV.
“We are at the stage now where we are
applying for an air operating certificate
from the civil aviation authorities which will
allow us to use the UAV in actual incidents,”
he said. “There are lots of potential
advantages, particularly in hazmat
situations, where the UAV can fly as high
as a kilometre above the incident and send
real-time footage to a command unit or
operations room.”
Some emergency services, particularly Police,
have started picking up on the UAVs and their
high resolution camera technology.”
A mock-up of a UAV in action.
Fire+Rescue / September 2012 / 13

fIrSt aId SaveS lIveS
Immediate use of
CPR can save lives.
In New Zealand, fewer than eight percent
of people survive a cardiac arrest. The
odds improve if there is someone able to
provide immediate CPR and defibrillation.
But as many firefighters know, it’s not
a guarantee of survival.
Taranaki Assistant Area Manager
John Nicholls said some people go their
whole careers without saving someone
using CPR.
However, New Plymouth firefighter Blake
Marston has had better luck. He’s just
been thanked by his elderly neighbour
for providing lifesaving CPR last month.
He had collapsed while mowing his lawns
and Blake rushed in to help. Blake said his
neighbour was the first person he had
used his skills on who has has gone on to
enjoy a bit more time on earth.
With the brigade being called out
more and more to assist the ambulance,
Blake said the successful recovery of
his neighbour has given them a great
boost in confidence when attending
CPR incidents.
14 / Fire+Rescue / September 2012
St John Taranaki Districts Operation
Manager Ian May said “Every minute
is crucial in a cardiac arrest. Early
recognition, early call for help, early CPR
and early defibrillation are crucial.
Every step in the chain of survival is
important. By swinging into action, Blake
made sure the first three steps were
underway until St John arrived.”
The Silverstream Brigade was recently
thanked for their lifesaving efforts by
Margaret Sullivan who collapsed while out
shopping in June. She recently visited the
station to thank the firefighters who had
used their defibrillator to help save her.
Chief Fire Officer Merv Gaskin said “It was
a pleasant surprise to have her come
back to thank us.”
St John Ambulance research shows use
of CPR and a defibrillator increase the
chance of surviving a sudden cardiac
arrest by up to 40 percent.
Above Top: Kyle Sherson, Merv Gaskin, Hamish
Preston, Margaret Sullivan, Gavin Badart, Jason
Mercer and Scott Weddell.
Above: Blake Marston and John Nicholls.

a couple of minutes with
Chris_Nicoll
Q:
a: Napier
Q:
a:
Q:
a:
Where are you stationed?
What’s your title?
Area Manager,
Hawke’s Bay Fire Area
What’s been your progression
within the NZFS?
Started in Auckland in 1971, moving
through the ranks and stations
across Auckland, spending some time
on Black Watch as an SSO in Training for
two years and also as Divisional Officer
Staff for about three years. I finished
as an operational DO based at Manukau,
when that rank was disestablished and
was appointed to CFO Whanganui in 1995.
I then became Assistant Fire Region
Commander (Ops) Eastern in 1998
and am now AM Hawke’s Bay Area.
Q: Family?
a:
Married to Carol for 38 years, no
kids, just toys and two fur children.
NEW ZEALAND FIRE
SERVICE SPORTS COUNCIL
SPECIAL ACHIEVEMENT
AWARD
Nominations are called for the 2012
Special Achievement Award. The award
recognises special achievements
awarded to, or gained by, members of the
New Zealand Fire Service. All nominations
must detail the achievement in writing.
Q:
a:
What’s the one thing that sticks
in your mind about the job?
The respect the public show
towards us as an organisation
and individually.
Q:
a:
If you could make one change to
the Fire Service what would it be?
Improve the IT connection speed
for volunteer brigades who are
frustrated when trying to input data into
SMS or OSM.
Q:
a:
Your most embarrassing moment
on the job?
Riding my Kawasaki 500 to night
shift at Remuera, decided I’d show
off in the middle of Remuera shops on
a Friday evening by pulling a wheelie,
flipping the bike over backwards, then
having the double embarrassment of
needing my SSO (Bert Taplin) to patch
up my shredded backside.
Q:
a:
What’s one thing people would
be surprised to learn about you?
I have an interest in hi fi equipment.
NEW ZEALAND FIRE
SERVICE SPORTSPERSON
OF THE YEAR
Nominations are also called for the 2012
Sportsperson of the Year. The award will
be presented by the NZFS Commission
at NHQ in Wellington.
All members of the Fire Service are
eligible for these two awards. Nominations
will be received up until 1600hrs on
23 October 2012 by:
The Secretary
New Zealand Fire Service Sports Council
4 Kim Street
Wainuiomata
WELLINGTON
Email james.molenaar@fire.org.nz
Favourite book?
Chesapeake Bay
by James A Michener.
Favourite movie?
Anything directed by
Quentin Tarantino but my pick
is Pulp Fiction.
Favourite TV show?
Mrs Brown’s Boys.
Favourite music group?
The Doors.
Favourite sport?
MotoGP
(Formula 1 of motorcycles).
Favourite holiday destination?
Paris.
If I wasn’t in the Fire Service I’d be?
Probably mucking around with
something that runs on petrol.
NEW ZEALAND FIRE
SERVICE SPORTS COUNCIL
LOANS AND GRANTS
In accordance with its Rules and
Constitution, the New Zealand Fire
Service Sports Council is calling for
applications for loans or grants for events
to be held between 9 November 2011 and
20 October 2012.
Applications close on 23 October 2012
at 1600hrs and will be considered at
the Sports Council AGM in November.
Contact the Secretary (details at left) for
an application form.
Completed application forms to be
returned to your local Rep (addresses and
phone numbers are on Firenet/Sports).
Fire+Rescue / September 2012 / 15

trIathlon entrIeS open
The Hawke’s Bay Multisports Club will host
the first New Zealand Fire Service National
Triathlon Champs in November.
In a joint venture with local Fire Service
personnel the Napier club has arranged for
a standard distance event (1.5km swim,
42km cycle and a 9km run). It is open to
individuals and teams.
The swim will be in an enclosed salt water
pond, the cycle leg is on a flat multi lap
course while the run heads out around
the Napier estuary on scenic limestone
pathways.
Organisers say local Fire Service personnel
who compete in triathlon events have
already shown their support and are keen
to make sure the 25 November event is one
to remember.
7-12 October
National Golf Tournament
Stratford
Contact: rawlyb@clear.net.nz
19-22 October
Motueka Volunteer Fire Brigade
Centenary
Contact Darylene Nelmes
PO Box 204, 83 High St
Motueka 7120
darylene.nelmes@fire.org.nz
19-28 October
World Firefighters’ Games
Sydney
www.worldfirefightersgames.com.au
1-3 November
on yer bIke
Entries are open for the NZFS Mountain
Bike Champs being held in Nelson on 15
November. The day after there will be
guided trips around some of the best
riding the Nelson region has to offer,
including the Dun Mountain track shown
here. More details on Firenet/
SportsandSocial/biking.
National 7 A-Side Soccer Tournament
Napier
Contact: tony.adie@fire.org.nz
See the sports section on Firenet for more
information or email hbmsc@xtra.co.nz,
Entries are now open.
Hastings firefighter Jason Reid out on a training ride.
For the latest information on Fire service sports events go to:
Firenet/sports/upcomingsportsevents
9-10 November
National Snapper Fishing Tournament
Coromandel
Contact: dave.gunn@fire.org.nz
or 027 232 1071
14 November
NZFS National Mountain Bike
Championships
Nelson
14 November registration
15 November championship
16 November guided riding
Contact: nelsonfsmtbclub@gmail.com
25 November
National NZFS Triathlon Championships
Napier
Contact: Brendon Lodge
hbmsc@xtra.co.nz
baSketball
reSultS
A combined Auckland/Wellington team won
the NZFS National Basketball Tournament
in New Plymouth in July.
The event was hosted by the local brigade
and organised by Jason Crowe, Blake
Marston and Maurice Kemsley.
The competing teams were from brigades in
Waitara, Opunake, Marton, Wellington/
Auckland, Napier, Stratford, Kaponga, Waihi
Beach and three from New Plymouth .
Winners were: Premier Grade, Auckland/
Wellington Coalition; A Grade, Waihi Beach;
Social Grade, Kaponga.
Hawke’s Bay (in white) play New Plymouth.
4 December
Auckland Fire Service Golf Club JAFFA
Open
Waitakere Golf Club
Entry closes 16 November
Contact: hayden.robinson@fire.org.nz –
021 893 61
lyndon.bodger@fire.org.nz
10-12 May 2013
Feilding Volunteer Fire Brigade
125th Jubilee
Contact: John Bongenaar
Feilding Volunteer Fire Brigade
PO Box 444, Feilding
Ph 06 323 3942, or 021 701 110
feildingfire125jubilee@gmail.com