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A generous donation by Canterbury benefactor Wyvern Jones and his late wife Beth has kitted out a fire brigade with a new operational support vehicle.
Fully equipped with generators, traffic cones and much more, the new ute is likened to a Swiss army knife and can be used in a multitude of tasks.
Ashburton Volunteer Fire Brigade station officer operational support Alan Burgess said the new vehicle can carry everything needed to provide backup support at a fire or accident.
“The vehicle even has a back that folds up to function as an interim incident control point.”
‘‘We can keep firefighters fed, provide hot or cold drinks, take on traffic management, and do whatever else needs to be done on site with a group of people who can do anything at anytime.”
Based at the Ashburton station, Burgess said the vehicle will respond to calls from other Mid Canterbury brigades when needed.
‘‘We could even respond to a situation in South Canterbury.”
Kitting out the twin cab was a collaborative effort between Lysaght & Associates engineering consultancy and talented brigade members with a cross-section of skills.
There was also additional funding from Ashburton Lions Club and the Trevor Wilson Charitable Trust.
‘‘Lysaght’s have modified specialty vehicles for us in the past and have the ability to adapt plans to our needs.”
He said having the support vehicle also provided an opportunity for fire brigade members who had taken a step back from firefighting, but still wanted to be involved.
‘‘Currently we have six volunteer operation support members.”
Chief Jeff Marshall said the station’s official commissioning of the vehicle last week went really well.
He said Jones, his children and extended family were present and appreciated the effort the brigade had put into unveiling the new vehicle.
‘‘We made an excellent job of presenting it under some lights, making it look spectacular.”
Marshall said it was a bittersweet moment for the Jones family as Beth passed away in November and did not get to see the result of their donation.
“She was a big part of it when if first began and knew it was going ahead, but sadly didn’t get to see the end of it,” Marshall said.
Burgess said Wyvern and Beth were looking for something in the community to support, and after a few discussions opted to help the Ashburton Volunteer Fire Brigade.
‘‘They approached us about 18 months ago offering to help financially in some way.”
Burgess said the idea of a support vehicle had been floated previously and this was the perfect opportunity to “pull the trigger”.
‘‘We are very proud of what we have created.”