Northbank temporary station opened

The Northbank Volunteer Fire Brigade has a new temporary home, thanks to a partnership with local farmers, the Adams Family.

Northbank covers a long strip of territory roughly 70km from end to end, and the brigade is a diverse mix including farmers, foresters and contractors, with a number of second generation firefighters joining recently.

Their original station was a single bay shed housing a fire trailer at the Pine Valley school, a basic structure that the brigade outgrew and didn’t adequately provide for training or storage.

Te Ihu Region Manager Paul Henderson opened the new temporary facility last month. It includes an office, operations room and training room with heating and IT plus a kitchenet, decontamination area, toilets and showers. The station has a full size appliance bay shed with lockers and storage too.

Plans for a permanent station at Northbank will be included as part of the national rebuild strategy. In the meantime, the brigade now has a fit-for-purpose base to continue supporting their community.

Below: Region Manager Paul Henderson cuts the ribbon at Northbank.