Fire chief backs use of town siren

‘‘I remember when I was younger my mum would pray when she heard the siren, she would pray for the people involved whether it was a car crash or house fire, for them to be okay. She said ‘the siren is someone in the community crying for help’.’’

Steve Pali

When the fire siren goes off in regional New Zealand towns to alert volunteer firefighters, those unfamiliar with the sound will often turn and ask locals in the street what the alarm is for.

It’s a sound many across the country have grown up with and, for some, triggers feelings of concern and for others a feeling of relief knowing help is on the way.

For Waimate Volunteer Fire Brigade’s chief fire officer Steve Pali it’s a sound which he says has helped save lives, and needs to continue.

A recent complaint about the fire siren in Waimate on a social media page prompted debate from people in the town.

However, while Pali said he understood the siren can be a nuisance for people who have never lived in an area with one before, it was the most reliable way to get volunteers into the station.

‘‘When the siren goes off, that is someone in our community crying for help,’’ he said.

Pali who has been part of the Waimate brigade for 16 years, grew up in Ō amaru where there was also a volunteer fire brigade and a siren.

‘‘I remember when I was younger my mum would pray

Waimate Volunteer Fire Brigade’s chief fire officer

when she heard the siren, she would pray for the people involved whether it was a car crash or house fire, for them to be okay. She said ‘the siren is someone in the community crying for help’,’’ he said.

He said while brigade members had pagers due to the geographical location of Waimate, the pager system is slightly different and only works within a certain range.

‘‘So if you are out of the township you might not get a page,’’ he said.

Firefighters also have a phone app that notifies them of an event, and Pali said in a perfect world all three options – the siren, pager, and phone – would go off at the same time.

‘‘We often say the pager went off halfway to the station, thanks to the siren,’’ he said.

The siren is a community asset, and he hopes it does not leave Waimate.

‘‘A while ago I was mowing the lawns and I didn’t hear my phone go off in my pocket, but I could hear the siren,’’ he said.

‘‘It is the most reliable way for us to get to the station and to help the community.’’

The Waimate fire siren is silenced as a courtesy between 11pm and 7am, but will go off if someone does not get to the station within four minutes to reset the alarm.

‘‘The reason we want to keep it in Waimate is if our pagers don’t go off, or there is a long delay, we can rely on the siren. That delay could mean someone’s life in a cardiac arrest incident,’’ he said.

‘‘It gives us that little bit of security.’’

Fire and Emergency New Zealand

national communications centre manager Gavin Travers said a lot of volunteer stations use the siren as they are a traditional method of calling volunteers to the station.

‘‘They are a trusted method of alerting the public and our people,’’ Travers said.

‘‘The use of fire station sirens is applied differently across the country depending on local arrangements and is also driven by radio/cellphone and paging reception or coverage area.

‘‘There are no plans to stop the use of sirens nationally. However, as said, across the country there are various local arrangements for the use of fire sirens,’’ Travers said.

‘‘These arrangements are determined through discussions with Fire and Emergency district management, the station and the community.’’