For those who have always looked on as a fire truck whizzed by and wondered what it’s like to be part of the Fire Service, now is your chance to contribute without having to do all the risky work of a full-time firefighter.

Wellington Fire District’s volunteer operational support unit is looking to boost their numbers with some new recruits.

Members need to be physically fit, as they are trained to the level of a firefighter (without the breathing apparatus training) and can be asked to perform tasks such as hefting equipment up nine flights of stairs or carrying two 16kg air cylinders at once.

“Members are expected to respond to their station during their duty week when called (duty week is normally one week in three) members are ‘on call’ any time between 6pm and 6am, as well as any time during their duty weekend. We also rely on members where they have their employers approval, to respond to day time calls (6am-6pm) during the working week.”

Officer in charge Alan Heppleston says the unit is a volunteer component of the Wellington Fire District which provides vital support to the full-time fire crews in Wellington at major incidents.”

“That means for example once fire crews have a fire or accident under control we will do salvage and clean-up work at the scene, we work to minimise further damage to property, often caused by water. In fact we attend a number of non fire scenes where water has escaped and in these situations can relieve fire crews so that they can be freed up to attend other fire calls.”

Alan says the work is very rewarding, with victims of fire usually very grateful for the work they do cleaning up after the smoke has cleared.

“People often don’t differentiate between volunteer support and full-time firefighters. As a result, we strive to live up to that professional reputation.”

Operational Support responds to ‘second alarm’ call-outs, where potentially large-scale emergencies are involved, and because of that, have very few false alarms compared to their firefighter counterparts.

The unit, which is over 100 years old, responds to about 100 calls per year, but as Alan says, it’s very hard to predict when they will come.
Continues...

“We can have nine calls one week and none for the next three.”

Potential new recruits are men and women that come from many walks of life, they include self-employed people, mothers at home, shift workers, people looking for work, tradespeople, professionals and retirees.

“While they come to the unit with a diverse mix of skills and experience they have a common interest in their desire to be actively involved in the community they live in.”

Alan says that the volunteer personnel’s common desire to serve their communities has lead to many life-time friendships for the volunteers and their families.

Alan says he is looking for recruits who typically live between the South Coast and Khandallah. Those interested will be interviewed to make sure the unit and applicant are right for each other. Following that a routine medical questionnaire and Police check is completed before their application is considered by the Fire Service.

To find out more about joining the Wellington Fire District Operation Support Unit, call Alan Heppleston on 027 459 2517 or (04) 475 7407 or visit www.operationalsupport.wellington.net.nz