Foxton and Beach fire brigades merger mooted by Fenz

The Foxton Fire Station building in Whyte St.

A merger of the Foxton and Foxton Beach Fire and Emergency Service brigades is being mooted.

While the idea of joining the two brigades was only at the conceptual stage, Fire and Emergency NZ (Fenz) bosses are in the process of consulting stakeholders and requesting feedback. Both brigades have held talks independently and collectively in recent weeks.

Manawatū-Whanganui assistant commander Craig Gold said the current Foxton Fire Station headquarters in Whyte St needed strengthening work to make it earthquake complaint. There were initially plans to demolish and rebuild on the same site, but those plans were parked while the idea of merging the town and beach brigades was explored.

The Foxton Beach station in Darwick St is in reasonably good shape, with no major work required in the next 20 years, but the benefits of a merger would future-proof both brigades well beyond that.

“This is an exciting opportunity although we haven’t made any decision. We’ve gone back to the brigades. We don’t want to tell them what they need. It needs to be driven from the bottom up,” he said.

The merger had the backing of fire chiefs, but Fenz wanted to consult with stakeholders and take in new ideas.

“It’s still in its conceptual phase. People will need time to digest it. You want to be inclusive and you want people to be invested.”

Under a merger, a brand new multi-purpose station would be built that would have the potential to house ambulance services and a community police constable on the same site. It would provide the ability to pool resources and allow for cross-training exercises and regular meetings between the three services.

There would be meeting rooms that community groups would also be able to access, he said.

Gold, who was advocating for a merger and new station, said it would also address population growth forecasts for the region and allow stations to pool resources.

The new proposed Ōtaki to Levin highway was expected to result in significant population growth in Foxton. The population of the wider Horowhenua region was tipped to almost double in the next 20 years.

“What we really need to look at is, what is needed in the next 50 years? What is best for the community looking forward? Where are we going as an organisation?”

- Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ on Air.