Police and civilian receive bravery awards for their - New Zealand ...

New Zealand Police Associationto Fitzgerald Ave, fill up the road, four wide,send them down Barbadoes, four cars wide,fill up the road, clear the CBD, let the fireengines get to the CTV building.Mixed feelingsForty minutes later I look back up Tuamtowards Madras. It’s empty. What a relief.They can get to the CTV building and otherhot spots. Suddenly I feel inadequate with myeffort. Should I have been pulling people out?Doing cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR)?I run back to the car. Another CIB memberjumps in and we are wondering what to donext. We hear on the radio they’re setting upa field hospital in Latimer Square, so we headthere. We drive into the park and the CIBmember runs off toward the CTV building. Amedic runs up asking if he can use the patrolcar’s battery for a compressor to blow up aninflatable device.I find the boss and ask him what he needs. “Ahelipad,” he replies. “Over there,” he gesturesto the park full of people, crying, huggingeach other, blankets wrapped around them.I get on the public address system. “Pleasemove to the North side of the park as I amsetting up a helipad here and I need it clear,move to the North side of the park”. I paintbig “H”s on the grass and run out of paint.Thankfully, more police arrive with more paintto finish the job.TouristsAn elderly English couple catch my eye. Theyare on holiday, staying in Oxford and bookedinto a Merivale B&B tonight. They are lost andconfused and having difficulty walking. I sitthem in the back of the patrol car.Where’s my family?Then a massive after-shock hits and thepark turf is rolling like the surf. I hear anotherbuilding collapse in the direction of CashelStreet. There is no mistaking that sound.Half a dozen guys with helmets, ropes andharnesses arrive. “We’re here on holiday.We’re experienced climbers. What canwe do?” they ask. They tell me they areexperienced at climbing buildings and arekeen to help. There isn’t a hope in Hell ofgetting through to Comms so I send them upto speak to the cops up at The Press building,where I heard there were people trapped.OffenderThere’s a detective and two members ofthe public dragging a struggling man acrossthe park. “Here, take him, he threw a brickthrough a Police car window,” they say.He is yelling abuse, struggling, kicking,hissing and spitting. I’m on my own and can’tleave the helipad and can’t get through toComms, so I handcuff him to a park bench.The crowd lining the “Police emergency” tapekeep an eye on him. I think of him looking likea monkey in the zoo – he is hissing, spitting,abusing the crowd. I manage to get on theradio after an hour. The team van arrives andtakes him away. He’s still hissing and spittingas they do.There is a steady procession of helicopterswith monsoon buckets dumping water on theCTV building. This is surreal.Where’s my family?CTV queriesJust then someone approaches. “My friend isin the CTV building. What is going on?” I can’tlie. “It’s bad, you must be prepared for theworst.” More tears. I check them into the tentfor the relatives of people in the CTV building.“Our mother’s in the CTV building, we can’tcontact her?” Same scenario. More tears andhugs.The manager of the Language School in theCTV building arrives and charges a cell-phonein the patrol car. He goes with another cop toprovide information on who is in the building.“Our flatmate goes to the Language Schoolin the CTV building. We can’t get hold of him,what’s happening?” There are tears, hugs anda collapse before they are sent to the tent.Locating familyFinally, I get hold of my kids. They hadfinished school early. They are alive and safeat home. The house is munted. There isLightening the load…sewerage and flooding and no power. Mumis not home but the kids are looking after anelderly neighbour. They’re alive, so many arenot.I manage to get hold of my wife. She finishedwork early and has been stuck in the trafficfor three hours. The car ran out of petrol onHereford Street so she left it there and walkedfor an hour and half to get home. But she’salive…It’s now raining heavily, soaking rain – it’scold and dark.I see light armoured vehicles (LAVs) rumblingdown Madras Street - the real deal.The Chief Medical Officer says he has beeninstructed to shut the helipad down until dawndue to the fog, rain and darkness. I manageto get on the radio and tell Comms. The newshift boss says he will ensure staff re-openthe helipad at dawn.Long dayAn ordinary start at 7.00 a.m. has turnedinto a nightmare that has stretched to aftermidnight. I head for home. I’m the lucky one.My sergeant is still at the CTV building –enduring Hell on Earth.I wonder if I can take the shiny, new patrolcar home. I make a management decision todo so given that my car is in the workshopat Kaiapoi. The brand new shiny patrol caris in complete darkness, creeping throughthe streets of deep holes and flooding. Carspoking out of craters appear in my headlights.I get to a bridge on Gayhurst Road. It’sContinued on next page• CHARLIE’S TAKEAWAYS: This Christchurch sewage disposal contractor obviously has asense of humour. The truck spent a long time last month clearing blocked sewage drains forresidents of Hills Road, which was once again badly affected by liquefaction in the recentearthquakes. The decal on the side of the driver’s door reads “Charlie’s Takeaways”. Localresident Josie Toth said that while the truck added a bit of humour to the day for batteredlocals the resulting smell from the cleaning was “pretty full on and stunk the place out”.- Photo courtesy of Julie Cheyne.August 2011203