Staff and patients at the temporary Kawakawa Medical Centre, set up in less than 48 hours by Ngati Hine Health Trust. Front from left, receptionist Te Arahi Carrington and nurse Manya Watene; back, chief operating officer Jennifer Rutene, nurse practitioner Polly Brennan, practice nurse Jacquie Cassidy, Sydney Baker, receptionist Dayna Ruka and Vicky Baker. Photo / Peter de Graaf
Staff and patients at the temporary Kawakawa Medical Centre, set up in less than 48 hours by Ngati Hine Health Trust. Front from left, receptionist Te Arahi Carrington and nurse Manya Watene; back, chief operating officer Jennifer Rutene, nurse practitioner Polly Brennan, practice nurse Jacquie Cassidy, Sydney Baker, receptionist Dayna Ruka and Vicky Baker. Photo / Peter de Graaf
Kawakawa Medical Centre has re-opened in temporary premises after an arson attack put its Rayner St rooms out of action.
Quick action by volunteer firefighters on Sunday morning saved the rest of the Ngāti Hine Health Trust complex but damage to the ceiling in the medical centre, caused by flames spreading from a torched van, was extensive.
Health trust chief executive Geoff Milner said the fire was disappointing and a distraction, but it was just another challenge to deal with in a remarkably challenging year.
''We've just got on with it. It's not about us, it's about being available for our patients.''
The temporary medical centre had been set up in the trust's original doctor's surgery at 2 Vogel St.
The building had been empty for some time but was refurbished this year for youth services and tamariki ora nursing teams.
The Vogel St building was also used as a drop-in flu vaccination centre during the Covid lockdown.
Milner said the stop-gap medical centre — complete with reception, waiting area and consulting rooms — had opened on Tuesday morning, just 48 hours after the fire. The trust worked closely with Kawakawa's Commercial St Surgery and Moerewa Medical Centre, both of which had offered to help if needed.
The column of smoke from the burning van could be seen across Kawakawa. Photo / Supplied
The worst of the water and smoke damage at Rayner St was in the ceiling space and a staff area. Fortunately the building was fully insured and no computers or medical equipment had been damaged.
The torched van had been used by the trust's maintenance man and was full of paint and solvents, hence the huge column of black smoke.
Milner was full of praise for the fire brigade's quick action and the ''great resilience and manaakitanga'' of his staff in trying times.
He expected repairs at Rayner St would take four to eight weeks.
The drama began early on Sunday when it appeared someone broke into the van, then tried to exit the property by ramming the gates.
When that failed the offender drove the van to the far side of the building and set it alight. The flames spread to the building's eaves and from there into the ceiling.
A firefighter on the roof of Kawakawa Medical Centre after Sunday morning's blaze. Photo / Supplied
The alarm was raised about 6.15am with the Kawakawa Fire Brigade — backed up by Paihia, Kerikeri and Kaikohe — managing to save the rest of the building.
Deputy fire chief Alistair Leitch said the volunteers were able to extinguish the van fire, enter the building and put out the blaze inside.
Once back-up arrived they ventilated the building and removed part of the roof to make sure the fire was fully extinguished.
Firefighters from different brigades worked together as a large team, he said.
''The health centre is a crucial service to our community and we're pleased it won't be out of action for long. This is the sort of incident we all train for.''
A police investigation into the fire is continuing. Call 105 or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111 with any information.
