Omapere Fire Brigade needs you - now

The Omapere Fire Brigade will be at Saturday's Wild West Festival at Waimamaku and will be actively hunting recruits.

The first challenge facing the brigade's new Chief Fire Officer is boosting volunteer numbers, and there was no time to lose.

June Ross, who lives in the Opononi area, took on the CFO role following the resignation of Mere Morunga, and a period when the brigade was run by Far North area manager Allan Kerrisk.

A volunteer firefighter for the last eight years, most recently as Senior Station Officer, she had accepted it was time for someone to step up.

"We needed it. Someone had to stand up and show a bit of leadership.

'I love being in the Fire Service, so I put my hand up," she said.

Training was a large part of the CFO's job, and her previous roles as training officer and SSO would stand her in good stead.

The brigade had 12 volunteers, but needed 20 to ensure a crew would be available at any time of day or night.

With many of Omapere's firefighters working elsewhere around the district, getting a crew together during the working week was especially challenging.

Major emergencies, such as the fire that destroyed the Opononi Four Square last winter, could be tough.

Only three volunteers arrived on the first appliance to confront what was by then a raging inferno, but they managed to hold the flames at bay until reinforcements arrived, saving the adjoining hotel and nearby community hall.

Ms Ross said other brigades, such as Kaikohe and Rawene, provided back-up but both were some distance away.

While being a firefighter didn't pay in dollar terms, it was hugely rewarding, Ms Ross said.

"The camaraderie in the Fire Service is great. It's a big, tight-knit family, and it's rewarding to be a volunteer and help out your community," she said.

It was also a chance to learn skills and acquire qualifications. The Fire Service, for example, could help recruits get their heavy vehicle driver licence.

Five of the brigade's current members were women, and a "few more" were keen to join.

The brigade will stage a kids' combat challenge, in which pairs of children race to finish a series of challenges, such as carrying a hose up a tower, hitting a target with a fire hose and using a sledge hammer, at Waimamaku on Saturday, along with fire safety displays and the chance for everyone there to see if they have what it takes to be a firefighter.