Te Puke Volunteer Fire Brigade report

Richard Crawford served two terms on the Te Puke Community Board, one as chair.

By Te Puke Fire Chief Dale Lindsay

On Sunday, our brigade was rocked to the core to hear of the tragic and sudden passing of ex-firefighter Richard Crawford.

Richard served with our brigade for just under 13 years and was a highly valued member of our team.

His commitment and dedication to the brigade never waned during his service but with his successful election to WBOP District Council something had to give, and he resigned in June 2022.

He stayed in regular touch with us, however, and remained a strong supporter of our brigade.

Richard’s service to the community of Te Puke and surrounding districts was more than significant, having served with our brigade as well as occasionally riding with St John ambulance.

He served a period as a member and as chairman of the Te Puke Community Board before being elected to the council.

He volunteered his time at various motor racing events and also responded to medical events via the Good Sam app.

Members of our brigade will feel his loss heavily as we had all worked so closely with him during difficult and traumatic events.

He is considered a close friend to many of us and we will miss him dearly.

Our deepest condolences go out to Richard’s wife Julie and his family.

Just six calls in the past fortnight – one car fire and five false alarms, although two occurred last Thursday night at almost the same time just before midnight, requiring our trucks to separate and attend one each with support from Maketu and Pukehina brigades. Fortunately no action was required.

Check out the Brigade Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/Te.Puke.Fire.Brigade