November 2007
The New Zealand Fire Service Magazine
o
Bo m !
ISSUE
35
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6
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November 2007
Issue No. 35
Fire & Rescue is the flagship
publication of the New Zealand
Fire Service.
It is produced by Media,
Promotions and Communications,
National Headquarters,
Level 9, 80 The Terrace, Wellington.
Front cover: The fiery cab of a truck
involved in smash on SH1 just north of
Hamilton.
Back cover: The smoke plume from the
truck crash.
Photos courtesy of FSO Kevin Holmes,
Bay Waikato.
The Issue Being Fair and Diverse......................................................................3
Big Events Boom or Bust..........................................................................................4
Recruitment Career Firefighters – Join Our Crew...........................................6
Welfare 20th Anniversary New Zealand Firefighters
Welfare Society......................................................................................7
Training Diary of a Fire Risk Management Fan....................................8
Awards Kudos for Te Kotahitanga..............................................................11
Incidents Let there be fire.................................................................................12
Car, meet tree......................................................................................14
Planting fire...........................................................................................15
Other News Hard hitting Fire Service advertising returns......................16
Fly-by Wanaka.....................................................................................16
In the Community Learning to fly......................................................................................17
We welcome contributions from
Fire Service personnel and their families.
Email stories and digital pictures to:
[email protected]
(Pictures need to be at least 1MB)
Post written material and celluloid
photos, or photo CDs to:
Fire & Rescue magazine,
PO Box 2133, Wellington.
(These will be returned on request)
Hidden hydrant...................................................................................17
Conference 2007 Emergency Management Conference....................18
Fun & Games Footing it with the best..................................................................20
MOtivation............................................................................................21
Business Excellence Continuous Improvement Project –
Your opportunity for input.............................................................22
Noticeboard Notes and events..............................................................................23
If you have a story idea or an upcoming
event you would like Fire & Rescue to
cover, call the editor on (04) 496 3675.
Fire & Rescue is online at:
www.fire.org.nz
15
ISSN: 1176-6670
All material in Fire & Rescue magazine is
copyrighted and may not be reproduced
without the permission of the editor.
18
21
The Issue
Being Fair and Diverse
New Zealand Fire Service entered the Equal Employment Opportunity Trust Work and Life
Awards this year for the first time. The calibre of entries was high with the New Zealand
Defence Force, New Zealand Police and other public sector agencies participating.
crew:
and Fairness
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The Diver sity , April Flux, Piki Thomas e,
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The New Zealand workplace is
changing. The job market is tight,
work-life balance is a common
catchphrase, and the ethnic diversity of New Zealand is increasing.
Statistics New Zealand projected that
by 2021 Ma-ori, Asian and Pacific
Island populations will increase by
29%, 145% and 59% respectively.
The challenge for workplaces is to
harness diversity to meet changing
community needs. For the New
Zealand Fire Service to successfully
achieve our strategic goals, we need a
work-force that is well attuned to the
needs of New Zealand communities.
The NZFS has been addressing this
challenge since the inception of
the Diversity and Fairness Steering
group (formerly EEO) in 2002.
The New Zealand Fire Service Magazine
Fire Service initiatives have included:
increasing Ma-ori and Pacific language capability, recruiting a diverse
workforce from a much broader
background than was the case
traditionally and promoting fire
safety at Marae, Kohanga Reo and
Kura Kaupapa through targeted
cultural festivals. Community and
organisational benefits are reflected
in the reduction of fire incident
statistics amongst Ma-ori and Pacific
peoples.
Our award entry, in the diversity
category, focused on our initiatives in
this area, how they meet employee
needs, the benefits to the organisations
and the impact on the community.
We received very positive feedback
from the Award judges, however
there can only be one winner.
The winning entry came from the
New Zealand Defence Force for
their initiative ‘Achieving integration
and acceptance’.
To read the NZFS Award entry in
full, see Firenet / National HQ / HR /
Diversity and Fairness. To read more
about the New Zealand Defence
Force’s winning entry see
http://www.navy.mil.nz/downloads/
pdf/navy-today/nt125_web.pdf
If you are interested in improving
your Ma-ori or Pacific Island language
capability, applications for the Dr Sir
John Te Ahikaiata Turei Memorial
Grant and the Pacific Island Language
Grant will be called for in January
2008. If you wish to discuss these
grants further, please contact Piki
Thomas or Sulu Devoe.
November 2007
Big Events
Boom or Bust
Love it or hate it, Guy Fawkes is our busiest time of year. As the sky is lit up with coloured
flowers of fire, firefighters up and down the country prepared themselves for a hectic
few days. Except that this year, those few days were even fewer.
2007 saw new fireworks laws being put in place, the first change to the law since
skyrockets were banned in 1994.
The change that was expected to have
the biggest impact was the shortened
sales period. Last year’s Guy Fawkes
saw 1100 more call-outs than normal
over the ten day period, an increase
of over 100 extra call outs per day.
With the shortened legal sale period
it was expected that this year’s
numbers would be lessened. And that
is how the statistics portray it as
Fire & Rescue was going to print.
Over the 10-day fireworks sales
period last year, the Fire Service took
2,404 fire related calls. This year,
there were just over a thousand calls
– a drop of 150%.
Acting National Commander Paul
McGill told Fire & Rescue that it was
“relatively quiet for a Guy Fawkes
night.”
“This year was a wait-and-see year
in terms of the Fire Service’s position
on a retail ban. With the new law
changes we wanted to see how they’d
effect overall incident rates.”
Between 7pm and 4am over Guy
Fawkes, the Fire Service responded to
154 fire related calls – a significant
reduction on the 245 callouts last
year and the 408 in 2005. It was the
lowest number of calls received on
the traditionally busiest time of
the year since official records began
in 1996.
“While there were still incidents of
irresponsible use of fireworks, these
were isolated and overall we’re
encouraged by how Kiwis have
heeded the call for a more responsible attitude to fireworks safety,”
said Paul.
There had been a concern that with
the four day period encompassing an
entire weekend, the cut-back in sale
period would not have a marked
difference, however on first glance,
these fears have proven unfounded.
Auckland Comcen Manager, Jaron
Phillips said that “overall it was a lot
quieter than what was expected.”
The Central Comcen reported that
they fielded 46 fireworks related
calls, whilst Southern took 28.
Prior to Guy Fawkes, the Fire Service,
in association with the Police, the
Ministry for the Environment and the
Environmental Risk Management
Authority produced fireworks safety
collateral and launched a Guy Fawkes
website to advise of public fireworks
displays around the country and to
remind retailers of the new laws and
to emphasise the ‘have fun but be
safe’ message.
As with previous years, the Fire Service
has been pushing the public displays
rather than private.
“Overall it appears it was a safer
Guy Fawkes than previous years.
The wet weather in some areas may
have made a difference, but certainly
the rule changes introduced by
the government this year was a
contributor to the relatively low
number of calls.”
The Fire Service will analyse the data,
review fire records and meet with it’s
partners to formerly assess the Guy
Fawkes period and then report back
to government.
A scr ub
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in the H re in Meeanee
awke’s B
ay.
Issue No. 35
Big Events
r is lit
n Harbou
Wellingto ublic display
p
up by the wkes Night.
a
F
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u
on G
One of the printed
collateral produced
for this
year’s fireworks cam
paign.
The New Zealand Fire Service Magazine
November 2007
Recruitment
CAREER
FIREFIGHTERS
National Recruitment Manager,
Peter Wilding, shows off the new
recruitment material designed to attract the
best of the best as our future career firefighters.
New Look and Feel
Responding to requests for updated
material, there has been an extensive
makeover of all our recruitment
promotional material. To date the
feedback from staff and the public
has been fantastic. Even the Police
recruiters were envious.
The main handout is now a booklet
which contains a DVD, an interactive
sample cognitive test and information about firefighting as a career.
Another innovation are A4 displays
Peter W
il
Recr uitm ding models th
en
ent cam
paign ge ew
ar.
Issue No. 35
which hold business card concertina
brochures. These are popular with a
Gen Y and can be left at gyms and
other places where people can grab
one to get an overview of being a
firefighter. All printed resources
(including DVDs) can be ordered
on-line the same way you order
fire safety resources. Crews are
encouraged to keep a few booklets
on stations or appliances to give to
prospective recruits.
Our #1 recruitment tool is our web
site http://www.fire.org.nz/recruit.
It includes everything we could think
of that a person may wish to know
about being a career firefighter.
I would encourage people visit our
web site for accurate up-to-date
information.
Urban Myths
Never let the facts get in the way of a
good story and fanciful stories
abound about career recruitment.
However, it’s important to note that
this process is clearly laid out on the
web site and in the promotional
material. The National Recruitment
Team (made up of operational staff
from every region) help run the
recruitment process and I have invited
a NZPFU representative to attend
each stage to help ensure consistency
and fairness of it. While we do
purposely advertise to attract more
applicants from minority groups,
once they apply it’s the same selection
process for all. Our selection is
based on the best person for the job.
Any other stories you hear are
nothing more than fallacies.
Welfare
September 23, 1987-2007
20th Anniversary
New Zealand Firefighters
Welfare Society
The New Zealand Firefighters Welfare Society celebrated its 20th Anniversary at the
AGM, held at the Society Offices in Lower Hutt.
Keith Nixon has been heavily
involved with the New Zealand
Firefighters Welfare Society from the
very beginning. He was the driving
force in forming the Welfare Society
in 1987. Keith served as Vice
Chairman from ‘87 - 91 and has been
Chairman since 1992.
At the recent AGM, the Board
confirmed Keith Nixon as Life
Member of the Welfare Society to
thank him for his leadership over the
past 15 years. He has been instrumental in many of the changes in the
Welfare Society over the years – the
growth of membership, prudent
management, the building up of
adequate reserves and the signing
of the accord are some of the
achievements of the Society under his
watch. In 1999, he also founded
Healthcare 99. Eight years on, this
mutual fund is now secure, stable,
and is owned by over 600 firefighters
supporting the health needs of some
1500 firefighters and their family
members. This fund is owned and
operated by firefighters for firefighters and their families.
“The Board honours
Keith Nixon
with life membership”
IMPORTANT NOTICE TO ALL FIRE BRIGADES
The New Zealand Firefighters Welfare Society can
now accept contributions for welfare society members,
paid for by their brigade.
The Board of the Society changed board policy to allow fire
brigades to pay contributions for nominated members of their
brigade for membership to the NZ firefighters Welfare Society.
Want to know more? Go to:
www.firefighters.org.nz
Then click onto
Important Notice to All Fire Brigades
or you can ring the Office on
0800 0K FIRE (0800 65 3473)
The New Zealand Fire Service Magazine
Welfare
Society
Chairman
Keith Nixon
November 2007
Training
Diar y of a Fire Risk Management Fan
Wednesday
7th November, 9.30am
Dear Diary
Risk Management Conference.
Today I’m off to Rotorua for the annual Fire
t I’ve been invited.
It’s three days long and I’m really stoked tha
We’re flying up at 1130 today. I can’t wait.
Wednesday
7th November, 10.30pm
Dear Diary
Well the first day is over and it was really informative.
After lunch, Dr Paula Beever, National Director Fire Risk
Management, opened the conference by playing a video of Mike
Hall welcoming us all and challenging us to look to the future.
I looked and it was all a bit hazy but I certainly understood
what was asked of us.
Dr Paula Beev
er
Thankfully, the first speaker of the
conference was Robin Gunston, a ‘futurist’, a man whose job it
is to look to the future and tell us what he sees. I thought those
people were called Crystal Ball Gazers. Robin pointed out some
things we should be wary of in the future, such as the impacts
of immigration and climate change.
After he spoke, we broke off into groups and did some workshopping. This was a great opportunity for me to meet people as
I’ve only just started in the Fire Service. After work-shopping we
reported back to the group then off we went for the evening to
be fed and watered. That seemed to be a favourite time of the
day for lots of people.
ton
Futurist Robin Guns
Issue No. 35
Work-shopping
Training
Thursday
8th November, 10.00pm
ar t
Jacqueline Sm
Dear Diary
Beever
Today was another good, learning-filled day. It started off with Dr
Odyssey.’
again but this time she did a presentation titled ‘2012: A Fire Risk
g really
Again we were asked to look into the future (by this stage I was gettin
good at it and had purchased a lotto ticket) and assess where the Fire
that
Service would be and how it had got there. Dr Beever also pointed out
are
Fire Safety was a viable career path for many people and that there
some very attractive roles in place.
We did some more workshops after being given a scenario of ‘fire
safety achievement’ and asked if these scenarios were ideal, and if not,
what changes would we make. It was really helpful to get everyone
thinking about possible improvements we could make to fire safety.
After lunch, Jacqueline Smar t talked to us. Jacqueline is from
M&C Saatchi, the advertising agency recently hired by the
Fire Service to run the ad campaigns. She pointed out how certa
in
advertisements have been really successful, like ‘speed of fire’,
and how
advertisements can linger in the consciousness long after they
are broadcast.
Between that presentation and the next, the group was show
n the home sprinkler
demonstrator – a smar t piece of kit designed to allow people
to get up close and
personal to a typical lounge room fire and see how sprinkler
heads activate.
There is a prerecorded commentary and ever ything (fire and
water) works at
specific times. This demonstrator has been designed to be opera
ted by just one
person – just add water, power and gas and you’re away.
Next, Megan Dromgool, the Promotions And
ea
Education Coordinator from Bay Waikato, gav
ught
presentation on a presentation, which I tho
was wonderfully post-modern. Some of the
y
technology in the ‘flash’ presentation was prett
of use
whiz-bang and I’m sure people will get a lot
out of it. There was even a quiz at the end!
and I
After lunch, it all got a bit too much for me
had to
was cut down by a nasty headache and sadly
nications
retreat to my hotel room. However, Commu
and
Manager Scott Sargentina was in attendance
two
he told me that the
presentations after lunch
were really good. They were
ator
Spinkler Demonstr
‘Arson Reduction – a Police/
Fire initiative and Crouching
the influx of Asians into Auckland
Tigers, Hidden Dragons – which dealt with
the latter was par ticularly
and the rest of New Zealand. Scott said that
much on Maori and Pacific
intriguing, as maybe we’ve been focusing too
pletely overlooking the
Islanders in terms of at risk groups while com
Asian groups.
problems peculiar to the 147 dialect speaking
ntioned this earlier!
I understood this as Robin Gunston had me
gool
Megan Drom
The New Zealand Fire Service Magazine
November 2007
Training
Lunch seemed to be a favourite time of
the day for lots of people.
Dear Diary
Today was the last day of the conference, it’s been really interesting
and I’m really glad I came.
of
First up speakers were Alan Kerrisk, Assistant Fire Region Commander
Support,
Northland, and Malcolm MacFarlane, Manager Data And Application
with ‘What Would Noah Want?’ This was about the
use of technology in regards to Fire Service response to
emergencies. The example they used was the
Northland floods in July. There were even some photos
that had been in Fire & Rescue in this presentation!
Some of the ‘SMART’ tools are really phenomenal, and
if people want to, they should absolutely learn how to
use them.
Then Kerry Stewart and Mitchell Brown from Western gave
us the ‘Have We Got a Deal for You’ presentation. Broken up in
to halves, one presented by Mitchell, the other by Kerry, this
presentation focused on strategic direction at a local level.
It was really helpful for me, in National Headquarters, to get
a bearing on what those out in the field were working with
and painted a healthy picture of regional direction.
In the penultimate slot for the conference, Murray McKee, a strategic advisor for
the Commission showed us ‘Life, Liberty and the Levy.’ Now, a presentation about
the Fire Service Levy hardly inspired me when I was reading the programme
for the conference, but I have to admit, this was probably the most interesting
of the lot. Murray was able to make a dry subject really fascinating by giving
‘real life’ examples of what he was talking about. He advocated removing the
cap from the levy and showed us how this would effect people in different socioeconomic groups. We all had a giggle when he showed us the ‘McKee household’
with its rundown car and house in a sad state of disrepair.
Last but not least, Dr Beever closed out the conference with a small piece
entitled Hotspots. She basically showed us that, yes; the Fire Service is on the
right path, however there is still room for improvement.
Whew, what a few days huh? I can’t wait for next year’s conference;
ing
akes the Levy excit
Murray McKee m
I’m already gearing up. I just went out and bought a new diary.
Friday
9th November, 3.00pm
10
Issue No. 35
Awards
A Whangarei-based fire safety project has bee
n highly commended
in the 2007 New Zealand Community Safety
and Injury Prevention Awards.
Picture: Jon Harvey
By Maria Cowin
Kudos for Te Kotahitanga
The Te Kotahitanga Home Fire Safety
project was started in Northland in
2001 in response to a disproportionately high number of fire-related deaths
in Northland compared with
the rest of the cou ntry.
Between 1997 and 2001, 13
peop le had died in hou se
fires in Northland; nine were
children.
“This was a well researched,
wel l targ eted and bro ad-b ased
com mun ity proj ect. It’s also been
succ essf ul with stat istic s show ing
that fire fata litie s and inju ries in
Northland have significantly reduced
since 2001,” she said. The Fire Service
trai ns the Te Kot ahit ang a Hom e
Fire Safe ty advi sors sele cted from
The New Zealand Fire Service Magazine
“I’m extremely proud of the advisors.
They take their role very seriously.
It’s not as if we’re just giving out
free smo ke alar ms and a bit of
advi ce. Ever y day thes e
men and women are out
ther e doin g thei r bit to
protect lives and property
in at-r isk com mun ities .
This ackn owl edge men t
enco mpa sses ever ythi ng
that we’re working
towards.”
s, Hon. Ruth Dyson,
FRC Trevor Andrew
rn’s
nia Jeeves and Easte
Scott Sargentina, Ta
ccess.
su
’s
TK
e
rat
leb
ce
Collin Littlewood
The Te Kot ahit ang a
pro gram me wor ks in
part ners hip with the
New Zealand Fire Service,
Hou sing New Zea land ,
Work and Income, People
Potential, and Northland
Injury Prevention.
Picture: Maria Cowin
At the awa rds cere mon y
in Wellington in September
the pro ject was Hig hly
Commended in the category
of Out stan ding com munit y safe ty and /or inju ry
prev enti on init iativ e or
pro gram me, and earn ed
prai se from Dr Car olyn
Cog gan, the chai r of the
awards’ judging panel.
Work and Income’s Task Force Green
programme to educate householders
about fire safety and, where appropriate, to install smoke alarms.
There were 11 entries in the
awa rds’ cate gory for “Ou tThe advisors generally work in teams standing commun
ity safety and/or
of two, and live in the areas they inju ry prev enti
on init iativ e or
wor k in. The proj ect’s Nat iona l pro gram me”
. The win ner was
Coordinator Tania Jeeves says this is Wellington
City Council’s Safe in the
a factor in their acceptance by their City prog
ramme.
communities.
November 2007
11
Incidents
Let there be fire
Sometimes, when you’re writing a magazine that uses
a lot of images, you receive some that are just so
spectacular, so mind-blowing, that you’re hesitant to
include words in the article.This is one of those times.
This is a truck crash in the Waikato, not that remarkable,
except one of the trucks was carrying 33,000 litres of
petrol. They collided and exploded into flames near
Horotiu. The fire gutted both vehicles.
Forty firefighters had to battle the blaze from a serious
distance, because of the intense heat - up to 1000
degrees Celsius.
The two drivers survived the crash and were taken to
Waikato Hospital, one with minor and one with
moderate to serious injuries.
12
Issue No. 35
Incidents
The New Zealand Fire Service Magazine
November 2007
13
Incidents
Car, meet tree
This car was travelling
in Hawke’s Bay along
Puketapu Road in Taradale.
The driver swerved across
the oncoming lane of traffic,
through a chain fence and
into the tree.
Taradale 551 and Napier 517
attended and assisted the ambulance,
provided scene safety and extricated
the driver.
Due to the close proximity to the
main Taradale shopping area, there
was a large crowd of well behaved
onlookers during the event. Fire
Police provided traffic control.
14
Issue No. 35
Incidents
Planting fire
High winds caused havoc in a plantation
west of Napier on October 22, 2007.
At around 9am, winds gusting up to 140km/h
had blown a tree onto a powerline sparking
the 2ha blaze.
The strong winds caused problems for the two helicopters and
dozens of firefighters in Soldiers Settlement Road, Rissington;
as they struggled for over three hours to control the fire.
Fire tankers and the command unit joined rural crews and
several trucks battling the blaze.
Napier’s Bronto aerial appliance was bought in to direct water
onto hotspots and helicopters worked from above, hampered at
times by strong gusts making it difficult for them to drop water
where it was needed.
Deputy principal rural fire officer Paul Hawke said strong
winds were a catalyst for such fires and urged property owners
to be vigilant about ensuring trees were trimmed to be clear of
power lines.
Lines companies also needed to be advised when power lines
appeared to be sagging and at risk of clashing in high winds.
Paul said Hawke’s Bay had been getting blasted for several days
by strong westerly winds.
“We are about a month ahead of our normal fire conditions.”
“The grass is growing now but these winds will start drying things
out and it will probably lead into a long, hot and dry summer.”
The New Zealand Fire Service Magazine
November 2007
15
Other News
Hard hitting Fire Service
advertising returns
Three Fire Service television commercials that continue to rate highly
with consumers are making a return over the next four months.
Starting 4 November, the ‘Keep Looking While You’re Cooking’ TVC
that describes the dangers of unattended cooking, will play on the
three main channels as well as Maori TV and Prime.
This campaign will be followed by the thought provoking ‘Speed of
Fire’ ad. Leading into the Christmas and New Year festivities period,
we will be running the ‘Don’t Drink and Fry’ commercial on targeted
channels late at night such as Juice TV and MTV. All of these ads will
be supported by web banners on popular sites.
With 25% of all house fires beginning in the kitchen and 1/3 of all fire
deaths caused by unattended cooking, this is a timely opportunity to
rerun advertising specifically targeting these two critical areas.
Fly-by Wanaka
On October 27, 60 personnel from in and around Central Otago and Queenstown Lakes
Districts took part in a training day at Wanaka Airport.
Those involved were the Queenstown Lakes District
Council Staff, NZFS brigades, Rural Fire Force members,
DOC, Southern Fire Region staff, private council
contractors, private tanker operators and aircraft operator
contractors with four helicopters.
There were three revolving workshops:
• Fire ground safety, operational procedures and CIMS,
• Aircraft safety and filling operations
• Radio communications
Queenstown Lakes District Council PRFO Gordon Bailey
said it was a good days training to refine rural fire
operational techniques for the many “old hands” and an
opportunity to expose new members to rural operational
requirements for the up and coming fire season. “We have
a great working relationship with all services in the south,
which you can see by all who attended the training day.”
16
Issue No. 35
In the Community
Learning to fly
By Sam Bennett
New Plymouth Red Watch recently organised a rescue
exercise at the Fonterra complex in Moturoa. The exercise
involved a patient that had taken a fall from a roof resulting
in chest pain and a broken leg. The objective of the exercise
was to stabilise and then remove the patient from the roof
area to the ground utilising the Type 4 aerial ladder and
basket stretcher system.
The use of the aerial ladder to effect this type of rescue
is relatively new to the brigade since the arrival of the
Type 4 appliance so it was a timely exercise to put into
practice the capabilities that the appliance can offer
us in this situation.
The exercise was a success and a valuable learning
experience for all involved!
Hidden hydrant
This is a buried fire hydrant on Peninsular
Road in Queenstown. The stairs were put
in by the previous owner. Thoughtfully, he
relocated the marker post to the side of
the stairs – where the hydrant wasn’t
buried. The marker gave no indication
that the hydrant was buried 18mm
underneath the bottom step.
The New Zealand Fire Service Magazine
November 2007
17
Conference
2007 Emergency
Management Conference
Keeping Pace:Technology and Modern Emergency Management
was the theme of this year’s joint conference of The Institution of Fire Engineers
and the North Island Civil Defense Emergency Managers.
The melding of the two organisations’
annual conferences, organisations
with such similar values and strategic
objectives, was a first. With the
obvious benefits delivered to delegates
of such an amalgamation it is hoped
that it won’t be the last.
The conference highlighted developments in modern emergency
management. Key objectives of the
two-day event included the building
and strengthening of relationships
across organisations, the integration
of services and an increased awareness
of the latest technology available.
period of the conference with the
depth and breadth of various
emergency professionals in
attendance.
The Hon Rick Barker, Minister
of Civil Defence provided
delegates an overview of the
various structures and new
working relationships proposed
under the new Fire Service
legislation and John Hamilton
director MCDEM discussed
aspects of leadership in emergency management.
Over 250 delegates from a range
of organisations from all over
the country attended the combined
event. All with close links to
emergency management included
local government, private sector and
individuals from the emergency
service community.
Both local and international speakers
shared their expertise and knowledge. From new communications
technologies to new ways of doing
business, the speakers delivered a
diverse range of subject matter,
providing valuable insights into
new developments in emergency
management.
The opening address by the Mayor
of Wellington Kerry Prendergast
highlighted the commitment of the
Wellington region to such events,
given the physical location of the city
and it’s range of associated natural
threats. The city, delegates were told,
breathed easy over the two-day
18
Issue No. 35
Registration for
the conference
was an informat
ive affair.
Mike Hall provided the closing
address and offered a valuable
glimpse into the future of both the
Fire Service and how technology will
impact on core business.
IFE President, Brian
Davey.
It wasn’t all structured work however,
a cocktail function and conference
dinner at the close of business on
day one, hosted by Wayne Guppy,
Mayor of Upper Hutt and chair of
Wellington region CDEM group
provided delegates an opportunity
to unwind and exchange ideas in a
less formal setting.
The last few years have seen an
unprecedented rise in the number of
new threats from both man and
nature alike. The application of
new technology and adoption of
improved operational methods is
now essential in the effective management of such threats.
Feedback received from delegates
suggests the conference was a valuable
opportunity to develop new ideas
and new working relationships,
much was gained from the combined
nature of the conference and
planning is already underway for
next year’s event.
Conference
mmander
National Co er s his speech.
liv
de
l
al
Mike H
Appliances were put on
display during the conference.
The New Zealand Fire Service Magazine
November 2007
19
Fun & Games
On December 2 this year, the Wellington Phoenix will play
the Los Angeles Galaxy in a football friendly at the Westpac Stadium.
The Galaxy team includes one David Beckham.
Footing it with the best
“Wow!” You might say. Or “so what?”
Either way, what you should care about,
is that the Fire Service is fostering its
own talent in Wellington. 14 sporty
things from National Headquarters
and the National Training Centre make
up the imaginatively titled Fire FC
indoor soccer team.
Bede Dwyer pe
rches
atop the ball.
Managed by Karl Baker and captained
by Andrew Dibble the team is embarking on its first season together in
the Division Three Mixed grade held on
Mondays/ Tuesday on the Wellington
Waterfront.
Andrew told Fire & Rescue that
“National Headquarters always had a
netball team and a few of us got together
and thought that it was time for
something different.”
Only four games in, Fire FC has a win
loss record of 2-2.
The team has lofty pursuits, Andrew
said. “Hopefully we will make the semi’s
in our first season. We are in a very
tough grade but the main thing is that
we all have fun.”
Indoor Soccer is played with 5 players
on court at any one time, two of these
players must be female. Subs are
allowed. Goals are given one point if
scored by a male and two if scored by a
female; so ladies, practice that kicking!
When the team was announced,
manager Karl Baker requested the
communications team – specifically
David Cormack – design a new shirt for
the team. The black shirt shown is what
he came up with. Karl has decided that
the shirt should be open for all who
wish to order it and should contact
him on [email protected].
Ellen Adams makes a
20
Issue No. 35
.
break down the flank
Fun & Games
MO tivation
Every year, as the cold winter months slowly retreat from one’s
memory, women all around the country exhale sharply and prepare
to endure 30 days of discomfort. It’s nothing seasonal, it’s not the
weather, rather it’s the beginning of ‘Movember’.
Movember is when men who feel game
enough, leave their top lip unshaven for
the month, in an attempt to grow the
strongest, strangest or stringiest mo.
There’s even a website dedicated to the
cause – www.movember.com/nz/
In honour of such an important
event, Fire & Rescue is proudly
showing off its ‘Rogues Gallery’ of
past and present moustaches.
Why would men throughout New
Zealand partake in such a bizarre
activity?
Every year in New Zealand 2,656 men
are diagnosed with prostate cancer
and about 600 die of the disease,
making prostate cancer the second
largest cause of male cancer deaths,
after lung cancer.”
The website provides the following:
And what profession could possibly
provide more outrageous moustaches
than the Fire Service?
“The answer is because men lack
awareness about the very real health
issue they face, have an attitude of
“she’ll be right” and are reluctant to see
a doctor about an illness or to go for
regular medical checks.
The aim of Movember is to change these
attitudes, make male health fun by
putting the Mo back on the face of
New Zealand men and in the process
raise some serious funds for the number
one male health issue, prostate cancer.
The New Zealand Fire Service Magazine
November 2007
21
Business Excellence
Continuous
Improvement Project –
Your opportunity for input
Recently, we initiated a project to develop, and plan the
deployment of, an integrated approach to continuous
improvement. The project is designed to include a
consistent improvement process for use throughout the
Fire Service, supported by improvement tools and
techniques at each stage of the process and guidelines for
application. The project is being sponsored by Russell
Wood, Director of Strategic Projects
and supports the current
drive to business
ts,
Projec
ategic ds up
r
excellence.
t
S
f
o
r
ea
o
who h
Direct
Wood ence.
ll
e
s
s
u
ll
R
ss Exce
Busine
It is expected that the project will result in the production
of a ‘Firefighters Guide to Continuous Improvement’ and
may become part of TAPS. The material will bring several
of our current ad-hoc approaches, processes and systems
together and improve on them to form an integrated
framework. The intention is to make it easier and more
effective for you to improve the way you work and
provide the best environment for success.
It is important that the completed process and
documentation has a New Zealand Fire Service focus, is
relevant at all levels, is practical and has a Fire Service
look and feel. To ensure that we can achieve these
requirements it is important that we hear from you and it
is important to do this early in the project so we can
incorporate all the activities.
We want to hear from you if you have any ideas,
suggestions or comments regarding:
• what you would like to see
included.
• what you think we should take
into account/consider.
• who we might talk/consult with.
• the sharing of current processes or
systems that may be affected or
have an impact on this project.
• potential issues or impediments to
making this work.
• what you know other
organisations have in place.
SO Nick Pyatt at the Wellington Central
Station has responsibility for the
completion of this project. You can
contact Nick with your suggestions etc
[email protected]
22
Issue No. 35
Noticeboard
all
Assistance Cu may be
ab le to
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to p ut
I am ho
be en as ke d
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to ge th er
jokes, cartoo
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ie
be
or
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or
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sh
Th
Fire Service.
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An
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Fire Service
long as it is
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If
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not use real
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(Ex RSO – Au
Colin Prince
PO Box 100674
NSMC
City 0745
North Shore
.co.nz
cpphoto@xtra
Ooopps...
It’s very easy w
h
facts and forget en writing a magazine to get your
now I’d been pret to absolutely check them. Up unti
l
brought to my att ty good about that, but it’s been
horrendous mista ention that last issue I made a
ke.
One that has ha
d
up and down the catastrophic ramifications felt
about the rugby country. In the article last issue
to
that eventual vic urnament, I erroneously reported
tors Wellington h
a
Auckland/North
land in the final. d played
This was not the
indeed win the to case at all. Wellington did
ur
played the norther nament, however they did not
they had played ners in the final at all. Oh no n
o
the boys from Ota
go.
John Rowe was
n
I am. And for it ot to blame for this mistake.
, I apologise unre
servedly.
The New Zealand Fire Service Magazine
NZ Fire Service
Mountain Bike Champs
NTC in conjunction with the Rotorua
Fire Brigade Sports Club are hosting the first
ever NZ Fire Service Mountain Bike Champs
in Rotorua’s Whakarewarewa Forest on
21 & 22 February 2008.
Entry is open to all members of the NZ Fire
Service, their families and members of
industrial and associated fire brigades.
Three events will be held:
• Individual XC
• Teams XC (teams of three)
• Individual Down Hill
Competitors can rest assured that all trails
used for the events have been selected with all
ranges of ability in mind and will be suitable
for beginners and pros alike.
Individuals who also wish to take part in
the teams XC will be catered for as teams
will be made up from all individuals who
wish to take part.
For further information and an entry form
contact:
[email protected]
[email protected]
November 2007
23
The New Zealand Fire Service Magazine
Published November 2007
By the New Zealand Fire Service
Media, Promotions & Communications
National Headquarters, Wellington
www.fire.org.nz