A truck driver suffered minor injuries after his rig rolled on corner of State Highway 30, just out of Benneydale on January 8. Photo supplied
Ōtorohanga
The brigade attended 208 calls in 2023, an all-time record. The year 2023 ended with “a bang” on December 27, with two serious crashes within a short time at Marokopa.
At 2.57pm, staff were called to assist after car went into a ditch on Mangatoa Rd. After helping to transfer the injured to a helicopter, which landed at Marokopa, the brigade was called to a fatal quadbike crash, in which a machine went over a bank on the same road.
Calls this year include:
January 10
At 8.05am, the brigade was called to a scrapyard fire in Progress Drive. This was started accidentally by a workman cutting bolts on a door frame with a blowtorch.
At 9.54pm, two trucks were called out after a utility vehicle rolled on the back of a farm on Martin Rd, Te Kawa. The brigade assisted ambulance officers to carry away the injured using a stretcher called a “stokes basket”.
January 11
At 8.15pm, the brigade was called out after smoke was seen in the vicinity of Great North Rd. A man had been cleaning out his house and burning rubbish on the front lawn.
January 16
At 6.19am, the brigade attended a medical call in Ōtorohanga.
Te Kuīti
The Te Kuīti Volunteer Fire Brigade had 194 calls last year, just short of last year’s tally.
It has had eight calls so far this year, including:
January 13
At 1.15am, they were called to a crash at Benneydale but were turned around after the Benneydale Brigade arrived at the scene first.
January 14
At 2.20am, the brigade was called out following the activation of an automatic fire alarm at the wharekura in Oparure Rd. No cause was found.
At 8.50pm, the brigade was called to a rural property at Benneydale after a controlled burn off triggered a false alarm.
January 15
At 8.10am, the brigade was called to a property in Rangtitoto Rd, but the incident was another controlled burn-off.
Benneydale
January 8
The Benneydale Volunteer Fire Brigade was called out at 7.30pm after a truck and trailer rig carrying blood for the meat works rolled on a corner of SH30 just out of Benneydale. The driver suffered minor injuries which brigade members treated until the ambulance arrived.
January 13
The brigade was called out after a ute rolled on SH30 just east of Benneydale at 1.30am. The sole occupant suffered moderate head injuries and the road was blocked for a short time.
The brigade transported the patient to Benneydale Sports Ground to meet the Taupō rescue chopper, which flew the injured driver to Waikato Hospital.
January 16
At 8.50pm, the brigade was called to a vegetation fire on SH30, near Mill Rd. The incident turned out to be a controlled burn-off.
January 15
At 1.40pm, the brigade was called out after a car crashed into safety barrier on the railway level crossing on SH30 at Mangapehi.
A tourist in a rental car lost control in the wet and failed to take the bend at the crossing.
While awaiting an ambulance, brigade members cared for the injured tourist, who was lucky to have avoided serious injury.
