Parts of museum ‘obliterated’

Wrapped in a silver bunker coat for protection, Southland Fire Service Museum curator Pete Burdette hunkered down in the kitchen while he listened to the sound of 25 years of history being torn apart during last October’s devastating storm.

He described the sound as ‘‘a freight train coming around the corner’’.

As the wind forced its way under the steel roofing, multiple rafters split and snapped like kindling.

Shattered wood and glass left a trail of catastrophic damage.

Southland Fire Service Museum Society acting chairman Les Costigan said a haunting reminder of the storm’s impact — a massive shard of plate window glass deeply embedded several centimetres into a wooden shelf — would remain there to become another piece of history on display. ‘‘While insurance covers the timber and iron, it cannot replace the soul of the museum,’’ he said.

‘‘How do you replace a 1913 BMW?’’ One display case was ‘‘totally obliterated’’ — reduced to splinters and glass. The recovery had been a ‘‘gruelling’’ process of emergency repairs and logistical nightmares to fix the damaged structural core. Builders had to dismantle the roof to replace the shattered bearers and rafters. Vintage fire trucks, which ‘‘don’t move very well’’, had to be relocated to lawns and builders’ yards across the city to make room for scaffolding.

The original museum had been constructed by volunteers at the fire station across the road.

Once again, volunteer firefighters were also providing the trade skills through their daytime jobs to reconstruct the structural core and damaged windows.

The museum had been planning to celebrate its 25th anniversary when the disaster hit, forcing the society to ‘‘hit the pause button’’ on the celebrations.

An official reopening date would be confirmed once the reconstruction had been cleared and the trucks returned to the displays.

Mr Costigan said the spirit of the fire service had kept them going through a process he described as ‘‘disheartening and stressful for our small group’’.

‘‘Getting knocked down and getting back up remains the driving force.’’ But they were determined to ‘‘come back out from the ashes’’.