Nelson bush fire: Volunteers 'the backbone' to fighting forest blaze

Saturday, 9 February 2019

Volunteer firefighter Grant Lawrence slumps exhausted against the Takaka fire truck on Friday morning at the end of a double shift battling the Tasman district forest fire.

As an eerie-looking orange sun climbed in the smoke-covered sky above the Waimea Plains, near Nelson, Lawrence recalled joining fellow crew members from the Takaka brigade to drive over the hill from Golden Bay and help with the massive firefighting effort – almost 24 hours earlier.

Initially, their focus was on the area around the Eves Valley sawmill where crew members sprayed fire-retardant foam on the sides of the roads to help ensure other fire trucks and heavy machinery could have safe access.

Takaka volunteer firefighters Callum Reid, left, and Grant Lawrence are exhausted at the end of their shift.

Next, the team members removed a fuel tanker from an area near the airstrip at Teapot Valley, before being deployed to Wakefield station, where they were sent on to help protect the Teapot Valley Christian Camp on Thursday evening.

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Stoke volunteer firefighters Bob Hancock, left, Tane Simpson, Bradley Reichert and Penny Parker prepare for another day battling the Nelson bush fire.

'We were putting out hotspots and fighting the fire,' Lawrence said.

Other crew members from Takaka came in as replacements about 8pm but Lawrence offered to stay on for a double shift.

Rotary Club of Richmond members Jim Scott, left, Graham Hosie, Lindsay McKenzie and Allan Hunter offer food and drinks to emergency services personnel fighting the fire.

A volunteer firefighter for six years, Lawrence said he took on the role to help the community.

The camaraderie among the crew was also a drawcard along with the experience of working as a team.

Helicopters with monsoon buckets fight a fire in trees in Iwi Rd, Nelson.

'It's a job that pushes you,' Lawrence said, adding that it also provided a sense of achievement.

As he prepared to head back over Takaka Hill, Lawrence said he intended to go home and 'say hello' to his family.

A helicopter with a monsoon bucket takes off just after dawn on Friday to fight an out-of-control forest fire in Tasman district that started in Pigeon Valley.

Takaka fire chief Philip Woolf has clocked up 42 years as a volunteer firefighter. The Takaka brigade was well resourced and it was great to be part of the wider response team of the Nelson-Tasman region, he said.

Watching a fleet of helicopters preparing to head into another day of firefighting, Woolf said he was impressed by the organisation of the multi-agency response to the blaze.

Stoke fire chief Tane Simpson was equally pleased.

'The command structure is outstanding,' Simpson, a volunteer of almost 25 years, said. 'They are keeping up with anything and everything we need.'

As he and fellow volunteer Stoke crew members Bob Hancock, Bradley Reichert and Penny Parker prepared to head out for the day, Simpson said the primary aim was still the containment of the fire and protection of property.

Based in the fast-growing Nelson suburb of Stoke, the urban brigade was called in just before 7pm on Tuesday, a few hours after the blaze started.

'We were unsure whether we were going to get a call up but as the fire developed … We were pretty well prepared.'

The Stoke crew was initially sent to Eves Valley to help protect the homes and the sawmill. All structures were saved in that mighty Tuesday evening battle including the home of Tasman district deputy mayor Tim King who was humbled and grateful, calling the work of the firefighters unbelievable.

'When we were in Eves Valley, there were two properties we were almost certain that they would have been affected,' Simpson said. 'They were still there the next day; it's just incredible.'

A forest fire was a completely different beast to an urban blaze.

'The topography is one of the biggest things, and water,' Simpson said.

'Being an urban brigade, we are sort of blessed with water on tap. Out here, you're forever looking for further water sources,' Simpson said.

Simpson said he and his team worked about 17 hours that first shift.

So, how did they keep going for such a long stint?

'We just had to – that's why we work in a crew,' Simpson said. 'It's a whole community of emergency services workers.'

Supporting that community of emergency workers are layers of other key people – from the employers who release their workers so they can don their volunteer firefighter hats to welfare officers and the likes of members of the Rotary Club of Richmond who have been on deck providing food and drinks to the frontline staff from 5.30am to 9pm every day.

Club president Kevin Gear said the Rotary club in turn was supported by Margaret Goff and her team operating out of Saxton Field who were collecting, preparing and distributing donated food and drinks.

'I basically give her a shopping list,' Gear said.

Tasman district mayor Richard Kempthorne said the volunteers were the 'backbone' of the operation.

'They are, they're in every part of this,' Kempthorne said, describing their efforts as phenomenal. 'I'm so appreciative of everyone involved, particularly the volunteers.'

There was a long way to go and ongoing volunteer support was still needed, as was significant rain.

'But that's not coming any time soon,' the mayor said.