Mount Maunganui-born Ray Fleming (far left) has been fighting the fires for two months. Photo / Supplied
Mount Maunganui-born Ray Fleming (far left) has been fighting the fires for two months. Photo / Supplied
Bay of Plenty firefighters will soon be on Australian turf fighting blazes as local residents and businesses step up to collect supplies for wounded animals.
Nineteen local firefighters have joined the fight against the wildfires since November 1.
Jamie Rhodes, the Eastern Bay Volunteer Fire Brigade's deputy controller, spent twoweeks fighting the Australian bushfires last month.
Rhodes was the strike team leader in charge of three New Zealand firefighting crews early last month.
The team included his Eastern Bay colleagues Colin Geety and Brenda Davis, Blair Wardlaw from the Waimana Volunteer Brigade, Tyler Fox from Rotorua and Mike Bathe from Taupō.
They were originally deployed to Port Macquarie before being reassigned to the Hunter Valley, near Laguna in New South Wales.
Crews had been working 16 to 18 days in a row since September. The days were huge, with breakfast at 6am and crews returning between 11.30pm and midnight.
"We were just happy some of them could get some time off. Their own homes were threatened too and they were spending all their time saving others'."
He said the locals' appreciation for their Kiwi helpers was "very humbling".
"Those brigades looked after us like you wouldn't believe. Some of them are going to be lifelong friends."
The biggest fire the crews fought was 160,000 hectares in size.
Just before they left, it connected with other fires nearby covering an area of more than 800,000 hectares at the time.
Mike Bathe (back left), Tyler Fox to his right, and Blair Wardlaw in the exact centre. Front (left to right) is Brenda Davis, Jamie Rhodes and Colin Geenty. Photo / Supplied
"It's got even worse since we left," Rhodes said.
He was thankful to his family and employer Fonterra Edgecumbe for allowing him to leave home and help.
Ray Fleming, who was born in Mount Maunganui and raised in Whakatāne, now lives on the Gold Coast and volunteers for the Queensland Rural Fire Service.
He has been a volunteer firefighter for 23 years and for the last two months has been helping fight fires in Queensland and northern New South Wales.
"In the last four years, I have been to Bundaberg, Townsville, Rockhampton and Millmerran to name a few."
Photo / Supplied / Jamie Rhodes
He said on the ground "you're always assessing your situation and safety exits before during and after fighting".
"No life is worth property or trees. Always have an escape plan."
As a civil servant working for the City of Gold Coast, he gets six days of leave to volunteer for emergency services each year.
"Most volunteers do it for the camaraderie and commitment to community. Most, believe it or not, are in two minds about being paid".
In 2002 Fleming fought fires in Moruya and Batemans Bay, places that have been hit again by the blazes this summer.
Photo / Supplied / Jamie Rhodes
"[Eucalyptus trees] just dry out and explode. We're in the fifth year of a drought so most firefighters knew this was coming, they just didn't know when."
Later this week his crew is expected to be sent to Nowra in New South Wales, where most of the Queensland contingent is based at a naval facility.
Meanwhile, Bay of Plenty Coast assistant area commander Scott Bell said the Tauranga service was considering sending one of the men over too this week if staffing levels allowed.
Photo / Supplied / Jamie Rhodes
MetService meteorologist Melissa Oosterwijk said it was likely Bay of Plenty residents would see a haze on the horizon but would not get the smoky skies seen in Auckland.
The New Zealand Defence Force has deployed a support contingent to South Australia this week, including three Royal New Zealand Air Force NH90 helicopters and crew, which would stay until at least the end of January.
Animal lovers pitch in
Full-time mum Kacie Gauld moved to Mount Maunganui from Brisbane about two months ago and was organising a animal medical supplies collection.
"The devastation has been incredibly difficult to watch ... [its] the horror of watching your homeland burn," she said.
Saddlery Warehouse Tauranga owner Danielle Stanaway is collecting new horse gear and medical supplies to send to Australia. Photo / George Novak
Blankets, burn and wound cream, petrol vouchers, garbage bags, adhesive bandages, vitamin E oil and electrical tape were all on her wishlist.
Aside from calling for donations, she was on the hunt for a collection point for people to drop goods off at and was calling on a local business or church to put its hand up to help.
She was also hoping to find a shipping sponsor and transport the goods by ship.
Saddlery Warehouse Tauranga was also running a collection.
Owner Danielle Stanaway said a staff member had suggested the store also do a goods collection to help out with the "devastation".
"We have animals and horses ourselves. We wouldn't know what to do in that situation."
The store was looking for donations of new horse gear such as halters and leads, along with medical supplies and dog and cat cages.
Local hospitality business Fulmmox Escape Rooms Tauranga is also donating 25 per cent of all sales to help aid firefighters, animals and community evacuations.
