The number of medical callouts responded to by Bay firefighters has more than doubled in the past four years.
Figures released to the Bay of Plenty Times under the Official Information Act show the number of medical callouts local firefighters responded to in the Western Bay of Plenty in the past four years had increased 108 per cent.
The figures cover responses from firefighting brigades in Athenree, Greerton, Katikati, Maketu, Mount Maunganui, Omokoroa, Papamoa, Pukehina, Tauranga, Te Puke, Waihi Beach and Waihi.
In rural or isolated areas such as Maketu, volunteer firefighters were often the first to emergencies such as heart attacks and major car accidents.
This "first response" was formalised in a Memorandum of Understanding between the New Zealand Fire Service and St John in December 2104, which offered firefighters medical support and training.