Volunteer firefighters who put their lives on hold to help their community have been left frustrated after their station was damaged by vandals.
Hira Rural Fire Station’s building was damaged by slug pellets last Sunday, leaving small holes through the side of the building and its door.
Fire chief officer Gordon Cowie says the damage has disappointed the team and left them feeling frustrated at the senseless act.
The 21-strong volunteer brigade respond to motor vehicle accidents, rural and forestry fires and are co-first responders to medical events, leaving their homes, jobs and families to answer the communities call for help.
Volunteer Derek Bonnington says its fulltime being vigilant and being prepared is always in the back of your mind.
“Your pager can go off at two in the morning, or just when you’re going to bed, or when you’re in the shower, or at the back of the farm, or putting dinner on the table.
“We are always ready to help, ready to stand on an icy road either side of an accident on the Whangamoas preventing others from becoming an event, or scramble through scrub looking for hot spots to avoid fire spread,” Derek says.
Volunteer Sean Moynihan says the Hira Reserve that the station sits on is susceptible to damage, including cars damaging the grass and vandalism, as it’s an isolated location.
“Things are compounding, so we are asking the community to call the police if they see anything happening,” he says.
Derek says to-date nobody has seen the vandals, but the damage is quite obvious.
“There are holes penetrating the wall and the door has a significant number of dents,” he says.
“Somebody’s having a poke at us, whether they were being idiots or taking a poke at us personally we don’t know. We are very pleased and privileged to have a building like this, it’s a shame to see it used as target practice.”
Volunteer Rosemary Hassan says she first joined the brigade when she moved to the area three years ago.
“I saw my neighbour Gordon walking down the road in his uniform shirt and arm in a sling, so I stopped to talk to him and he explained what the uniform was.
“I said ‘oh, do you have to be a bloke to do that stuff?’ he said ‘I’ll pick you up for training on Monday at 6:45, come see for yourself’, end of story.”
Not too long after Rosemary was recruited, the team were called to assist in the Walter’s Bluff fire, this while most of the crew were already putting in hours at Pigeon Valley along with the rest of the region.
“I’ll always remember Derek saying to me ‘Don’t you worry, we’ve got your back’.”
Now they are asking the community to have their back and to keep an eye out for the vandals.
