Much more than just another building . . .
Far North District councillor John Vujcich turned the first sod to begin the building of a home for the Northern Rural Fire Authority in Kaikohe last week, but there is much more to the project than providing a home for the command and control that was acquired last year.
The complex, incorporating two currently unused buildings owned by the council, will include a small motors facility, a stores building and a workshop, and a gymnasium for public and council use where the dog pound used to be.
Even the gym will have a major point of difference, in that it will not only enable people to get and keep fit but will help identify potential firefighters, who will have the chance to train within the Rural Fire Authority qualifications process.
The aim is to eventually have 12 fulltime staff working alongside cadets, some of whom will come from the Pacific islands, the curriculum including basic maintenance and fire control.
Pasifika cadets will train with the Northern Rural Fire Authority in Kaikohe for two seasons before making way for a new batch.
Building the complex has been costed at $250,000, which will be met by the council as a loan, which will be repaid with interest.
Once completed the complex will give the authority the capacity to fully rebuild fire appliances on-site, which it intends to do at the rate of one every year, which will not only benefit brigades in the district but will also create employment. Twelve full-time staff, including diesel and small engine mechanics and panelbeaters, will also take on apprentices. They will be advertising to fill these positions.
“Every job that is created will mean there is one more person to spend money in town,” authority chairman Ken Rintoul said, adding that apprentices would not only embark upon a career path but would also gain recognised Rural Fire qualifications via exams, that could provide entry to the police and armed forces.
“The problem is that a lot of our young people finish school and then drop out of the system. This will offer them a positive alternative and give them a career,” he said.
The first cadet had been identified, via the YES programme, as a top performer late last year.
“It’s not just a course, it’s education with a career,” Cr Vujcich said, Mr Rintoul adding that providing this sort of opportunity was not only good for the Rural Fire Authority but for the wider community.
Another project specifically targeted the younger generation at Horeke, some of whom were getting into some minor bother.
The plan was to get a bit of land and cut a track for them to not only to drive on but where they could learn how to use diggers, rollers and the like to the point where they could maintain the machinery and the track. Ultimately this would enable them to acquire a range of licences and the chance to get into the workforce, as well as establishing a group of people to support the fire authority as and when needed.
Meanwhile the Fire Commissioner had visited Kaikohe, and rated the Rural Fire Authority as the best rural fire organisation in the country.
“That’s because we actually go out and engage the community,” Mr Rintoul said, adding that the commission was now looking to replicate that recipe elsewhere.