Rookies face ‘full-on’ fire

NEW recruit Debbie Neilson (right) shortly after experiencing the Mandeno Street house fire first-hand, while other new recruit Brent Golding (red helmet, on hose, left) gets directions to douse the fire from trainers. 220061AD

By Cathy Asplin

If you met Debbie Neilson in the street and had to guess what she does as her contribution to the community, few would probably say ‘firefighter’. But that’s exactly what this 38-year-old solo parent is - one of three new recruits for the Te Awamutu Volunteer Fire Brigade.

Ms Neilson says she has belonged to a number of voluntary organisations in the past and is a firm believer in giving back to the community.

“I have been a St John volunteer and spent 15 years in a medical unit with the army. I was doing first aid training with firefighters at other stations and when I began at Te Awamutu I ended up joining the fire service.”

While she has been out on several calls since joining the local brigade, and completed breathing apparatus training in Rotorua on Saturday, nothing probably came close to her first real experience of a house fire on Sunday.

The brigade was able to burn down a three bedroom wooden villa on Mandeno Street as a training exercise, thanks to a local property developer. Fires were started inside the house so that recruits could see first-hand the development of a fire, then use their new skills to extinguish it.

“I must admit I was a bit nervous - this is much more realistic than anything else I have experienced. It’s pretty intense - very hot and you can’t see anything. The house had plenty of furniture in it, which gives off gases and thick black smoke as it burns. That’s when our training kicks in. I was certainly relying on the fact that firefighters all around New Zealand have been given the same training and have survived!”

Training officer Mike Kimber says being able to burn the house as a exercise for new recruits provided a rare opportunity.

“We don’t get the chance to do this very often. We were lucky to have the house donated to us by a developer. Although it is in town, there was plenty of open space around it for safety. The exercise provided an excellent chance for trainees to see the development of a fire and then put their fire fighting skills into action. It allowed them to make sure they were using the right techniques and protecting themselves at the same time. We had new recruits from Tirau, Katikati and Te Kuiti, join our local brigade for the exercise.”

Mr Kimber says neighbours were notified of the fire, but as it could be seen for some distance the brigade received a number of calls.

He would also like to send thanks to all of the people who provided furniture to use in the fire.

“We actually had over 200 phone calls and couldn’t collect all of the items. We ended up using around 12 couches and 30 chairs, which was excellent, thank you.”