2 days Ago By No Author
The new vehicle will get plenty of use, as around two-thirds of callouts are for medical emergencies.Matakana Volunteer Fire Brigade is the proud owner of a brand-new, state-of-the-art medical vehicle, thanks entirely to the generosity of the local community.The $140,000 Ford Ranger comes with ample tailormade storage for all equipment that the crew might need, from oxygen and a defibrillator to cones and hi viz gear for rescue helicopter landings.
The shiny new ute in full FENZ livery replaces a standard old grey Hyundai Santa Fe that had been used to respond to the brigade’s many medical callouts since 2012.Chief Fire Office Jeremy Gibbons said the upgraded vehicle had already been busy and made a big difference to the morale of the station’s 22-strong crew since it arrived on March 1.“We started it up at 10am and at 11.
30am it had its first callout, and there have been 19 since then – more than 60 per cent of our callouts are medical,” he said. “It makes a huge difference to everybody when we get new equipment, everyone loves it.”Gibbons said fundraising for the new vehicle was all down to the brigade – there was no money from FENZ or government.
“We had volunteers go to the markets to shake buckets and we did a fundraiser with Omaha Golf Club that raised around $10,000,” he said.But it was the generosity of a single local donor who had been assisted by the brigade in the past that made the real difference, when they singlehandedly topped the total up and made the purchase possible in less than a year..
