By DANIEL JACKSON
WHANGAREI - When the gas torches have been put away and the wreckers' tools hung up for the night, the old Navy frigate Waikato again echoes to the sound of running feet and barked orders.
But the crews training on the 2200-tonne vessel are much different from the bellbottom-clad
sailors who graced its decks during the Waikato's military service.
Since May, the 35-year-old warship has been moored at Opua in the Bay of Islands, where it is being stripped in preparation for its eventual sinking 4km south of Tutukaka Harbour as a dive attraction.
Northland firefighters latched on to the near-empty ship as an excellent training opportunity.
For the past two months, volunteer and professional crews have used the hulk to test their room-to-room searching techniques as well as training with breathing apparatus and thermal imaging gear.
The Waikato has also offered a rare opportunity for training to fight fires on ships.
Northland region training officer Shane Schrafft said more than 100 firefighters had been through the ship and more were lining up to have a go.
"It's the most realistic training outside of the real thing. We're trying to get as many through as we can."
Mr Schrafft said shipping companies were often reluctant to allow firefighters to train on working vessels but because the Waikato was destined for the seabed anyway, the Fire Service had been given free rein by the former frigate's owners, the Tutukaka Coast Promotions society.
One of the wreckers working on the ship is also a member of the Tutukaka volunteer brigade.
The once-proud ship meets its date with the ocean floor early next month.
