Source: Fire and Emergency New Zealand
Flaxbourne Volunteer Fire Brigade will celebrate the official opening of their new fire station on Sunday.
The new building is on the site of the former Ward Fire Station, which was damaged by the Kaikōura earthquake in November 2016.
Flaxbourne’s Rural Controller Duncan Roberts describes the new station as “fantastic” and says it will enable the brigade to operate more efficiently and safely.
“Just having both the trucks parked side by side instead of one behind the other is a great improvement,” he says. “There is vehicle fume management in the appliance bay to get rid of the diesel fumes and storage for our safety equipment, as well as a training room.
“It’s a big move for us.”
Flaxbourne’s firefighters are trained and equipped to respond to structure fires and wildfires, medical events, vehicle crashes and natural disasters including storms, floods and earthquakes.
Their new station has been built to Importance Level 4 (IL4) earthquake resilience standard, with additional water storage and generator back-up power, to ensure the brigade’s ability to respond to any natural hazard event.
The Ward Volunteer Fire Brigade amalgamated with the Flaxbourne Rural Brigade in 2022. Until moving into their new station this month, they have been operating from a nearby building owned by the Flaxbourne Settlers Association.
The new station will be officially opened by Fire and Emergency Deputy National Commander Megan Stiffler on Sunday 19 April.
