# Community > Volunteers >  Vol Fire crew, who is one?

## smidey

Hey team, how many volly firemen we have here? Where are you and for how long?

I am in whangarei heads, small station with around only 60 calls a year. Been a member coming up two years.

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## sako75

Hey Smidy,
your timing is impeccable. Check this out. (I sent you a PM but went to the wrong Smiddy  :Oh Noes:  )

http://www.nzhuntingandshooting.co.n...ly-room-11085/

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## smidey

haha yeah i saw that so jumped straight in  :Have A Nice Day: 

good idea. should create a fair amount of traffic especially with the upcoming medical changes for the fire service.

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## sako75

Tell me about it. We are missing so many calls at the moment and get asked by the community why we weren't there to help them  :Sad:

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## smidey

> Tell me about it. We are missing so many calls at the moment and get asked by the community why we weren't there to help them


i don't follow?
we are 30 mins from whangarei and have always done medicals that i am aware of. It's important for our community and we are happy to do it until the ambos can get there.
At the recent chiefs meeting they told our chief that we would trial the van thing but we will loose our appliance as we are a single appliance station (Aux actually). That doesn't seem to make sense to me as at a guess half to 60% of our calls are medicals so what do we do in the situation of a fire with half the equipment. I totally agree a dedicated medical vehicle would be very useful on medical calls but at the expense of an appliance, best to have one each. That and what is the benefit of have a bed in the vehicle? We have never used the stretcher we have on our appliance and it has been stated we are not to transport patients so what's the point? It has been a fairly up and down topic for us as a while back st johns were using us a lifting help returning patients home from hospital to. They would send a single ambo officer and turn us out to assist to get the patient inside. that didn't last too long thankfully, they were given the cease and desist.

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## Dougie

I'm a rural fire volley, joined June this year.

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## Dougie

My fav pump, and my fav pump operator  :Have A Nice Day:

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## Dougie

Happy Valley fire earlier this year

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## Gapped axe

27yrs a volley, fire Chief 16yrs. Both kids are volleys and the son is a Crew leader. We are under National Rural not NZ fire service. Two great volley units who sometimes work together. Last nite myself and Son and 1 of my medics spent 2.5 hr's trying to keep a Suicide victim alive, hope we succeeded as I haven't heard the outcome today. Spent all day today training and tomorrow Saturday I will be training Volleys from other departments. Hope this goes better than the last time when I was called away to recover the 2 lake Victims. My motto ( Volleys rock  become One )

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## smidey

My old man is in the rural fire force in maungakaramea, I'm nzfs but we have plenty of scrub fires in our area.

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## moonhunt

My uncle up here has 2 or less years for his gold star, hanging in there just

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## sako75

> My uncle up here has 2 or less years for his gold star, hanging in there just


For anyone that doesn't know, a Gold Star is award for 25years service. That is a great achievement  :Cool: 



Smidy, have you been on Firenet and read the regional notice on the St. John MOU update?

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## moonhunt

He's raining in on 50yrs, maybe its a second gold, not sure how it works, he's fire police now

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## Dundee



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## Pengy

They left the price tags on the helmets  :Wink:

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## Richie

Volly- 5 Years- QFF at WVFB North Canterbury  :Thumbsup:

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## 35whelen

4.5 years in Wairoa whilst doing auto electrical apprenticeship... Cyclone Bola we where on call for two weeks. Averaged 120 calls a year Our area was huge Halfway to Napier and Gisborne. All up to Waikaremoana and the Ruakituri valley.... With the ammonia refrigeration at the freezing works and 4 large LPG storage facilities we had good crews training and gear....  Then I Transferred to a rural brigade top of the south island.... Oh dear! Dads army......

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## Sailornson

Gidday Team. Nearly 7 years with Ruakaka - Northland. Just moved to Geraldine - Canterbury and will be making inquiries to join here as well. Anyone else in my neck of the woods keen for a beer it'd be great to catch up.

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## mcmilleng

Finished up as SO last year after just over a decade as an urban volly, Featherston then Carterton brigade. Since took me over 6 months to get used to the sound of the siren spooling up without jumping up ready to bolt! Still miss the comradery but not the 3am low battery pager beeps!

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## uk_exile

Last weekend completed the *Lead a Vegetation Crew* course.  So I'm now a qualified crew leader  :-)

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## Taranaki bushman

Gday everyone. I have recently joined the volly fire brigade in Ohai, Southland. Really enjoying it so far. Is proving to be a good way to connect to the community.

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## 308

> Gday everyone. I have recently joined the volly fire brigade in Ohai, Southland. Really enjoying it so far. Is proving to be a good way to connect to the community.


Good on ya and welcome to the forum

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