Community rallies behind new van
Emergency first responder van for Pukehina
Anew emergency first responder van will enable quicker response times for patients says the Pukehina Volunteer Fire Brigade.
The brigade welcomed sponsors and local members of the community to the recent launch and blessing of its latest emergency first responder van.
Richard Mohi conducted a blessing of the new van, followed by Viv Hill and Andree Withington, trustees of Mackay Strathnaver Trust cutting the ribbon to officially launch the van.
The brigade says it has been fundraising over the past couple of years to update and replace its previous van, to ensure it can better meet the needs of the growing Pukehina Beach and wider community areas. It says the support from sponsors, the community, and donations to achieve this has been fantastic.
The van has been customised and fitted out with vital medical equipment to assess and assist patients until an ambulance arrives, at which point the first responder crew conduct a handover of the patient to St John ambulance staff.
This enables quicker response times for patients and ensuring their needs are met efficiently, considering the distance an ambulance must travel to get to Pukehina, the brigade says.
In addition to attending medical responses, the van is used for transporting additional crew to callouts where the fire appliance only carries a crew of five, meaning there are more crew available on the ground at incidents.
In 1997 the Pukehina Volunteer Fire Brigade saw a need for servicing their community with additional first response skills, not just fire-related calls.
The Pukehina brigade purchased its initial first responder van. This was a unique service to both Pukehina and New Zealand, being pioneers in introducing this type of service. Since then, their highly trained medical first responders have been attending medical callouts, working alongside St John to assist and treat patients.
The brigade says it acknowledges the following who have supported and contributed towards achieving this: Ray White Pukehina, Mackay Strathnaver Trust, Lion Foundation, Western Bay Emergency Charitable Trust, Pukehina Charitable Trust, Merv and Gail Ebbett, Pukehina Motor Camp, Pukehina Store.