Fire service now includes emergency
The men and women who fight flames, attend car accidents and rescue kittens from trees now do so under a new name – Fire and Emergency Service New Zealand.
As of Saturday, New Zealand’s urban and rural fire services have joined forces and Manawatu firefighters are supporting the move.
Money, resources, support and training would be pumped into the service, which would help rural firefighters in particular.
Manawatu fire service assistant area commander Rodger Calder said modern-day firefighters no longer only attended house fires.
They also go to medical emergencies, motor vehicle accidents, rescues, and weather related incidents.
The new legislation, which came into effect on Saturday, recognised the role firefighters now played.
It replaced the two acts that governed the fire services – the Fire Service Act 1975 and the Forest and Rural Fires Act 1977.
‘‘It’s really a combination of all the services,’’ Calder said.
Urban firefighters and rural firefighters had their different areas of expertise. The new legislation not only increased the support, money and resources for rural firefighters, but also encouraged the services to work together, he said.
However, Calder doubted there would be significant changes in Manawatu, because its volunteer fire brigades and rural fire authority always had worked closely together.
Deputy principal rural fire officer Bradley Shanks said the change was ‘‘huge for us – it’s going to be so much easier’’.
Rural firefighters would have greater training opportunities and support, he said.
Calder and Shanks were just two of the many people gathered at Palmerston North’s Fire Station on Saturday night to celebrate the amalgamation.
Beforehand, Manawatu Area Commander Mitchell Brown also became the Central District governor for Rotary.
About $191 million will be spent to close funding gaps in rural fire services and provide more support to volunteers, such as equipment and training.
Another $112 million of funding will cover the costs of the new organisation, although Fire and Emergency New Zealand will be required to pay that back over 10 years.