Two new trucks for Haumoana fire brigade
Haumoana Volunteer Fire Brigade has been delivered two brand new trucks – a fire appliance and a tanker.
Members of the Haumoana Volunteer Fire Brigade and Hastings fire station Brown Watch lined up with two newly commissioned trucks to serve the Cape Coast community. Brown Wiki, local kaumatua (sixth from left) blessed the trucks with FENZ Area Manager Ken Cooper (third from left) and Haumoana Senior Station Officer, Graham Arthur (fourth from left) speaking to the assembled crowd of locals.
At the handover, Hawke’s Bay Area Manager, Ken Cooper told current and past brigade members that there had been a huge effort from many people to have the two vehicles fitted out and training completed at the same time.
Ken said, “ It was great to have the local community join our 21-strong Haumoana Brigade and our Hastings fire station Brown Watch firefighters at a blessing of the trucks by local kaumatua, Brown Wiki.”
“It’s easy to see that the Haumoana Volunteer Fire Brigade are delighted with the new trucks and from our talks, they are keen to put them through their paces!” says Ken.
The new Iveco fire appliance is fully equipped with the gear needed for the range of incidents the local brigade responds to including medical events, motor vehicle accidents, vegetation and structure fires.
The new Hino tanker holds 5800 litres of water and is used on calls to unreticulated areas in the surrounding countryside. It also responds to fires across the wider Hawke’s Bay district.
“We’ve been upskilling our people, with nine firefighters completing pump operation and driver training before the handover. We’ll be undertaking more training for other members of the brigade soon,” says Ken.
In 2021, the Haumoana brigade will celebrate its 75th anniversary.