Grateful dad joins in the rescue of people, pets
Dwayne McGuire was at work when he got a phone call at 9am saying his town was being evacuated – it was disappearing under water.
McGuire’s heart sank – his two children were at home in Edgecumbe.
‘‘I just raced there, I borrowed a boat and cranked up the engine and raced to my house.’’
In normal circumstances driving a boat to his house is impossible; yesterday morning it was the only mode of transport that could reach his home.
‘‘It was chaos. Bins, household stuff just floating around. I had to borrow a boat to get to my house. To get to my kids.’’
The door was wide open when McGuire got home, his home was completely flooded. The truck he had been rebuilding all but destroyed. He doesn’t care. It can be replaced.
More importantly, he found out from emergency services that his kids were safe, thanks entirely to the volunteer firefighters.
‘‘The fire guys saved my kids. They got there in time. I just can’t thank them enough.’’
But he did want to thank them, by helping out.
McGuire, grabbed his wetsuit, pulled out his little dinghy and sailed house to house helping emergency services pick up stranded people from their homes. He even saved a poodle or two. ‘‘We got to one house and there was a dog chained up and he just had his snout above water. We saved him and a lot of other animals as well.’’
McGuire wasn’t the only one who heeded the call for help.
Kawerau locals Jason Hubbard and Kipa Fowell decided to forgo work when they saw news of Edgecumbe’s flooding.
‘‘We just grabbed a couple of boats and came down. We spoke to the fire guys and got addresses that needed to be evacuated,’’ Hubbard said.
The addresses were of elderly people stranded in their homes.
‘‘Some of our old people were huddled up and scared. We got them dry and eased them onto the boat and to safety. We made about 30 or so trips back and forth getting our old people safe,’’ Fowell said.
‘‘Some were a bit cranky, didn’t want to leave their homes. You get that with some of our old people, making that last stand. But we got them to safety and that’s what matters.’’
Hubbard said they had saved many cats, birds, dogs, poodles and other pets.
‘‘Yeah, the animals got left behind but we were able to save them,’’ he said.
‘‘The fire guys and police were amazing. They made sure no man was left behind.’’
The three men including their friend John Puutu are staying at the command centre, at the fire station, one kilometre from Edgecumbe.
‘‘We wanted to stay and help,’’ McGuire said.
‘‘They saved my kids, this is the least I can do.’’