Rural fire services get new trucks

When the call went out for more volunteers to join the Putorino rural fire service, Lovie Pullar jumped at the opportunity to suit up.

"There was a story that went into the paper saying that without more people coming on board, it could be a service that would be lost to the area," she said.

"That was the driving factor for me to come forward as a volunteer."

The training had been "a real eye opener", particularly understanding how quickly a fire spread and taking on first-aid training. One of the first jobs she attended was a car crash outside her home, while her crew attended a multiple car crash last Christmas.

"There were six cars and 11 people involved but there were no fatalities, which is always good."

It's now been five years since the Tutira woman joined the rural fire service and yesterday, with another Putorino volunteer Sue Mackintosh, she welcomed a new fire truck to the local service to help them better serve their isolated community.

The Hastings District Council and the Ministry of Internal Affairs funded two new fire appliances, worth $380,000, and one was handed over to the Putorino rural fire service and the other to its Rissington counterpart at the council's emergency management centre.

The new vehicles are Isuzu NPS300s single-cab medium fire appliances, with a water-tank capacity of 1800 litres.

The Rissington appliance replaces a utility fire vehicle which had a 600-litre capacity water tank, and the Putorino appliance replaces a 1995 appliance which had a water tank of 1000 litres.

Ms Mackintosh said the truck had a few new features compared to the old appliance, which would make work easier.

"It's got an electric start pump, the old one was a pull start. The pump also has foam induction, which makes the water go further.

"It's vital equipment for us because we are one hour from Napier, so we're quite isolated."

Ms Mackintosh has worked as a volunteer for about 10 years and said the service was always looking for more people. "We've got quite a large area to cover, Putorino and Tutira, and being part of the rural fire service gives you a lot of new skills and experiences."