Fire and Emergency New Zealand (Fenz) has pulled a U-turn and a busy Waitaki Valley brigade will keep its tanker. The Otematata Volunteer Fire Brigade announced on Wednesday that Fenz had reversed a proposal to remove the fire appliance, designed to transport large volumes of water to emergency scenes. Acting chief fire officer Hayden Dry said it was the perfect outcome for his team. “There will be no more trying to take the tanker away from us at any time in the near future,” CFO Dry said. “They’ve all come to an agreement and our argument is obviously compelling enough for us to keep it. “It’s a little win for us and the community.” The tanker was a “vital asset” to the brigade, he said. “It’s an asset to our valley and to our community and we didn’t want to see something taken away. “It would’ve been silly to see it go. We had a lot of support throughout the valley, neighbouring brigades.” The brigade had three appliances — the tanker, a pump and a medical truck. Otematata had five operational members and two brigade support members. The team had responded to more than 60 callouts to date this year, CFO Dry said. Fenz district commander Deane Chalmers said the organisation had decided to review its decision to remove the tanker based on feedback from the Otematata brigade as well as neighbouring brigades. “Considering the information provided, along with the increased vegetation fire risk anticipated over the summer due to El Niño conditions, [Fenz] has decided to retain the tanker at the Otematata fire brigade until further consideration is made across the wider fire and emergency tanker network.” Fenz needed to “remain flexible in order to relocate resources as operational needs and risk change”. “We recognise this tanker is valued by the Otematata brigade and community and I’d like to thank everyone who provided feedback, which was carefully considered. “The Otematata Volunteer Fire Brigade provides a valuable emergency service to the Otematata community and wider Waitaki Valley.” nic.duff@alliedmedia.co.nz
