New Fire Truck for Karamea

13 Whiringa-ā-nuku 2022

The Karamea Volunteer Fire Brigade is set to receive a new fire truck this week.

The new fire truck is a 2008 Iveco Eurocargo which has until recently been serving another volunteer fire brigade in the town of Wellsford between Auckland and Whangārei.

"The crew are pretty excited to get their new truck," says Karamea Chief Fire Officer Jason James.

"We take a lot of pride in our trucks. This new replacement will be the fifth truck we’ve had in 60 years. We are looking forward to having a new, reliable truck to help us keep serving the Karamea community," he says.

"Once we get the truck next week, we’ll be training with it and getting used to its new features before we start using it to respond to emergencies."

Before being deployed into northern Buller, the new Iveco fire truck is being fitted out and equipped by the team at Bridge Motors, who service all the West Coast’s fire trucks.

Harry Collett, owner of Bridge Motors and former Chief of Hokitika fire brigade, says the Iveco is one of about 30 fire trucks in the country that has two motors. One is mounted under the cab to drive the truck and another at the rear to power the water pump.

The fire truck will join the Fire and Emergency team at Agfest in Greymouth, before heading up to Karamea. The team will be at Agfest providing fire safety tips and information on volunteering.

If you’re at Agfest, come along to the Fire and Emergency exhibit to talk to the team and see Karamea’s new fire truck in person.