Emergency services to gather for open day following rough year

The Tapu Volunteer Fire Brigade.

A volunteer fire brigade in a small Coromandel village has managed to get multiple emergency service providers together for a “once in a decade” event following the devastating weather events of 2023.

After multiple emergency call-outs and loss of life due to extreme weather events throughout New Zealand in 2023, and the increasing likelihood of such events becoming more common, Tapu Volunteer Fire Brigade chief fire officer Warwick Reed and his brigade felt it was timely to show the community how agencies respond.

“Who are the people in these agencies, what equipment do they have and how can they help?”

The brigade has set about coordinating an emergency response agency open day, on May 11 in the village at Tapu School, opposite the Tapu Fire Station.

“Organised by Tapu Volunteer Fire Brigade, the last such event was held 10years ago,” Reed said.

“It is rare to have the opportunity to see, meet with and learn from all of the local emergency response agencies at one time.

“Attending will be Coastguard, LandSAR, St John, Police, Civil Defence and Fire and Emergency New Zealand.”

Reed said the Tapu brigade would be joined by the Thames Volunteer Fire Brigade, who would be demonstrating the cutting of a crashed vehicle to extricate a trapped victim.

He said FENZ representatives would also be on-site to discuss community risk and recovery.

“There will be interactive learning experiences for young and old, and a sausage sizzle with a gold coin donation to a children’s charity.

“It’s about learning what the agencies do in emergencies, what new equipment they have available to assist them, and those that may need their help,” Reed said.

“This is a once-in-a-decade opportunity; should the weather not cooperate, we can use the Tapu Memorial Hall adjacent to the school field.”

The mission statement was for the public to be able to familiarise themselves with the active emergency responders in the area, who they are, what they are capable of doing, and what equipment they have available to help them carry out their roles, he said.

The attending agencies will set up in the morning and be available from midday to 5pm to meet the public, answer questions, demonstrate equipment, and talk about how they go about responding to calls during an extreme weather event, natural disasters, or a call for help from the public.