Katikati Volunteer Fire Brigade celebrates 70 years

Des Wilson sits in the original Katikati fire truck ... the Ford still makes appearances at special local events.

How do we tell this story?

True heroes that dedicate and commit to serving our community, to keep us all safe. They volunteer their time and their families make sacrifices.

We have spent many hours interviewing these quiet super heroes who are very reluctant to let you into their private space – they don’t do it for honour or glory, but to help others. The camaraderie is another reason that is constantly spoken of amongst this family of firefighters.

When the sirens sound, I used to think, ‘someone is in trouble’ and now I think ‘oh my, who is going to this callout?’ They are regular people doing a regular job or running a business, they drop tools and head out to help others, selflessness, without pay and a strong will to serve with pride.

Early beginnings

August 1950 a disastrous fire destroyed the Farmers store and adjacent fish and chip shop on Main St, Katikati. The townspeople could only watch helplessly as the buildings were burnt to the ground. This catastrophe led directly to the formation of the Katikati Volunteer Fire Brigade as committee members David Hume and Alex Taylor rallied (Alex’s son and grandson are now directors of Taylor Bros. Transport Ltd sponsoring this exhibition).

In March 1953 14 firemen were officially made active members of the Katikati Fire Brigade.

There was no fire station and practice sessions were held at the Uretara Domain grounds in Crossley St every Sunday. Within a year this changed to Tuesday evenings at 7pm, a day and time when members still meet at the station.

A brigade is formed

In October of that year the Chamber of Commerce met with Tauranga County Council (TCC) and both agreed that a brigade should be formed.

In August 1951, approval was given from Wellington and the TCC created the Katikati Secondary Urban Fire District and a fire brigade committee to set up the fire brigade and build a fire station. The committee bought a Ford truck (ute) that was converted to a fire truck fitted with equipment lockers, a reel of hose and a 40-gallon water tank. The truck was delivered on March 3, 1953, and at the same time 14 firemen were made active members of the new Katikati Volunteer Fire Brigade. Land was provided by Tauranga County Council and after a successful fundraising effort the building was eventually completed in late 1955.

We share stories of the honours and Gold Star service awards, the fire chiefs, the never-ending training in today’s conditions, the changes from firefighting to emergency response. The callout statistics in this past year recorded at 181 callouts which is interesting to see the breakdown. They are all covering so many different incidents from fires, false alarms, road accidents and health calls (until St Johns can get there).

We truly hope that everyone comes to visit this exhibition – it is free to all ratepayers and residents of Western Bay District. We hope to educate the public and make them think about their actions, and what and who is at risk when the siren calls.

■ The exhibition will be open to the public on March 5.

Open day

■ Katikati Fire Station is having a weekend of celebration and part of it includes an open day this weekend.

Their doors will be open on March 4 from 9am-3pm.

Deputy chief fire officer Jim Cooper says there will be firefighters there to show the public through the station.

A donation bucket will be there which will go towards the Cycle Gabrielle flood relief campaign.