Memo
To:
Ron Devlin, Te Hiku Region Manager
Cc:
Mal Tipton, Te Hiku Property Manager
Wipari Henwood, Area Manager Muri Whenua
Deane Ingram, Te Hiku Planning and Performance Manager
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From:
Myles Taylor, Principal Rural Fire Officer
Date:
15 July 2020
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Action: Request for new Fire Station build for the Cavalli Volunteer Fire Brigade.
Reference:
A.
Report on Fire and Emergency New Zealand Operational Impact at Matauri Bay (Cavalli
Volunteer Fire Brigade) dated 17 June 2020.
Aim:
The purpose of this memo is to detail the current situation of the Cavalli Volunteer Fire Brigade and
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seeks support for a new fire station to be built on land leased by Fire and Emergency NZ (FENZ) in
the Matauri Bay community.
Background:
Cavalli Volunteer Fire Brigade was created in 1998 under the Far North District Council (FNDC) who
were then acting as the Rural Fire Authority for the Far North. The brigade adopted the name Cavalli
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Volunteer Rural Fire Force (VRFF) as this described the greater geographical area they respond to,
however the brigade is actually located in the Matauri Bay Community.
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The brigade was started due to the community identifying the need for a fire response capability after
a caravan caught fire in Matauri Bay resulting in the loss of several children. At the time the preferred
mechanism to create an emergency response presence in a rural setting was to establish a VRFF
under the umbrella of the FNDC. Through local fundraising and with support of the FNDC an
appliance and PPE was secured and training under the old Rural Fire Unit Standards was
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undertaken.
For the first 20 years of their existence the brigade occupied an old hay shed that was “loaned” to
the brigade as a temporary shelter until a permanent home could be found. Unfortunately, this
temporary solution lasted for two decades as no new site was identified due to the lack of suitable
infrastructure within the Matauri Bay community.
In 2017 after the creation of FENZ, an area of land across the road from the old station was secured
through a 30-year lease and designs for a new fire station were drawn up, then Building and
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Resource Consents obtained under the direction of the then Region Manager Rural.
The old hay shed that was previously used as a fire station was no longer available, so the brigade
became homeless whilst they waited for the new station to be built or an alternative solution found.
To accommodate the brigade whilst the proposal for the new building was processed, the FENZ
property team located two shipping containers and some water tanks onto the new site for the
brigade to use as a temporary home. The fire truck was relocated to another farm shed
approximately 2km down the road.
During successive station visits by both Northern Rural Fire Authority and subsequently FENZ senior
management the brigade was told that a new station would be built on the site that had been secured
and as a result an expectation has been created within the community. To further emphasize that a
station would be built a sign was erected by FENZ on the site showing a plan of the new station and
stating it would be built soon.
At Ref A, an Operational Impact Report for Matauri Bay has been provided by the Planning and
Performance Manager (Te Hiku). Key elements of this report are highlighted below to illustrate why
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a new station for Cavalli VFB is critical. A copy of the report is appended to this memo.
Cavalli Volunteer Fire Brigade
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The current personnel count of the Cavalli VFB is 13 members. Over the last several years it has
become increasingly difficult to attract new members and the brigade now relies on a core of
dedicated people. The lack of a dedicated fire station or any basic facilities has a significant negative
impact on the ability to recruit and retain volunteers from the local community. Conclusions on the
viability and sustainability of this brigade cannot be made based on current membership as the lack
of facilities has and continues to be a major deterrent to attract and retain more people.
The local community is extremely supportive of the VFB but they have a low opinion of the
infrastructure provided which does cause a reputational issue for the organisation.
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The current situation of using shipping containers for training and housing PPE with the fire appliance
stored 2km down the road is completely inadequate and not in keeping with FENZ minimum Health
and Safety standards with regards to providing a safe working environment. The lack of basic
hygiene and decontamination facilities means FENZ is falling well below its duty of care requirements
for a volunteer station and is a source of frustration to the team. Under the current situation
volunteers are returning from medical and fire calls with no ability to conduct decontamination. As a
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result, private vehicles and washing facilities in homes are being exposed to potential carcinogens
and/or blood products thus forcing volunteers to potentially contaminate surfaces that their families
come into contact with.
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The current lack of a station does not meet operational training/response needs nor allow the brigade
to function effectively as a FENZ VFB. This is an isolated community that is easily cut off from other
communities when a major emergency occurs and therefore a dedicated fire station is considered a
key piece of local resilience infrastructure.
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Cavalli VFB: Current fire station comprising two shipping containers on a leased site.
Operational Capability Requirement:
Geographic analysis in the Operational Impact Report shows Cavalli First Response Area (FRA) has
on average 18.7 incidents per annum with the majority being Medical Events (4.3) at 23.2% of all
incidents, followed by Other Fires (4.0) at 21.4%, Vegetation Fires (3.0) at 16.1% and Motor Vehicle
Accidents (2.7) at 14.3%. In terms of FENZ providing the most efficient operational response
capability to the community, Cavalli VFB became a MED Co-Responder in April 2020; thus, moving
forward the VFB call rate is expected to increase as neighbouring VFBs are no longer required to
respond to those Medical events. Furthermore, Cavalli will be first responder to all fires and Motor
Vehicle Accidents.
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In terms of value that Cavalli VFB provide a specialist wildfire response to the wider station cluster
residing between two urban stations with Kerikeri to the south and Kaeo to the west; they were
alerted to 30 calls in the 2019/20 financial year of which they responded to 27. Furthermore, Cavalli
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VFB provides a key FENZ response capability/presence on a semi-isolated coast that attracts
holiday makers and tourists in addition to the local residents. The area they cover is characterized
as scrubland, farmland, and forestry. Fuel loadings are extremely high and the need for a team that
have strong wildfire suppression capability is essential. This capability compliments the skills of both
neighbouring brigades and fully aligns with the organisation’s proposed modular service delivery
concept.
The Operational Impact Report details that the majority of calls within the Cavalli FRA are medical
and vegetation type events. Of significance the report details the Cavalli VFB response times to
these events as being only marginally better that that of the Kaeo Brigade; this key fact highlights
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that not having a dedicated fire station creates increased risk to the Matauri Bay community due to
the practicable inability for Cavalli VFB to respond in a timely manner despite best endeavors.
Unfortunately, the current set up requires a member of the brigade to travel 2km down the road from
where the rest of the crew are getting ready in order to retrieve the fire appliance out of a secure
shed, lock the shed back up then travel 2km back to pick up the crew then attend the incident. Any
response is delayed by at least 10mins due to this function alone. The report also highlights that in
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terms of drive time (all things being equal in terms of having a dedicated fire station) then Cavalli
VFB would be the first arriving appliance to incidents across its FRA.
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The lack of a dedicated Cavalli Fire Station is also negatively impacting upon the neighbouring
station cluster and volunteerism within those VFBs as any unnecessary responses by Kaeo or
Kerikeri volunteers creates additional work for them.
In real terms, the lack of a dedicated fire station delays responses to such an extent that it results in
Cavalli VFB having K2 arrival times that match neighbouring VFB responses; so the fundamental
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choice that is derived for FENZ is “a dedicated fire station is required for Cavalli VFB to exist and
provide a timely response to the community; otherwise there is no reason for the VFB to exist at all”.
Request:
In order for FENZ to have an effective operational capability presence within the Matauri Bay
community, a new dedicated fire station is required at 1405 Matauri Bay Road to host Cavalli VFB.
At present, the current infrastructure is not fit for purpose, does not meet its operational requirements
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exposing the community to increased risk and negatively impacts the health safety and wellbeing of
our volunteers.
The approved plans for the proposed fire station build are a single level structure that once completed
will meet IL4 seismic requirements and all current design guidelines wherever practicable.
The project is currently shovel ready with community and iwi support, building consent and resource
consent in place and funding identified. Once approved all that is required is for a contractor to be
appointed and for construction to begin.
The memo requests Region Manager support to:
• NOTE the fire and emergency risks within the Matauri Bay community;
• NOTE the operational risks that Cavalli VFB currently experience in providing a FENZ
capability presence within Matauri Bay;
• NOTE the proposed Cavalli Fire Station is “shovel ready” and only requires senior FENZ
leadership approval;
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• ENDORSE building a new dedicated fire station at 1405 Matauri Bay Road to host Cavalli
VFB; and
• REPRESENT the proposal to build a dedicated Cavalli Fire Station within FY20/21 to FENZ
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senior leadership for approval.
Myles Taylor
Principal Rural Fire Officer
Northern Whangarei Kaipara Rural Fire District
Enclosure:
Information
1.
Report on Fire and Emergency New Zealand Operational Impact at Matauri Bay (Cavalli
Volunteer Fire Brigade) dated 17 June 2020.
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