FIREFIGHTERS responded to 25 calls in less than six hours on Saturday as rain fell and waters rose in Te Kūiti.
Te Kūiti Volunteer Fire Brigade chief fire officer Phil New said firefighters virtually just rolled from one call to the next, with many coming in one after another.
“That weather bomb just came in all at the same time, really.”
There were times of brief reprieve between calls for the volunteers, though Phil said any time spent at home for them on Saturday wasn’t restful.
He said different areas of town were affected at different times as consistent poor weather compounded earlier effects of the storm.
Duke St was one particularly significantly affected area of town, Phil said.
“For some of the houses on Duke St, the water got there and there’s nothing you can do because it’s got to keep making its way downhill.
“So, the houses were just completely swamped.”
They were limited in what actions they could take to help people in low-lying areas, which had water travel down from the hills.
“Unfortunately, there just wasn’t a lot we could do.”
Firefighters helped lift furniture including fridges and beds in some houses.
Some people just wanted the water out, but Phil said with it raining so hard the firefighters couldn’t do much about it.
“They just want you to help, so it was about assisting people and giving them advice, trying to make sure they were safe and had somewhere they could go to.
“That was all we could do really.”
Phil gave kudos to the dozen or so firefighters still in town during the long weekend for their efforts .
“I’m very proud of the whole lot of them and how they assisted the public and our community.”
