Tauranga event: Greerton Volunteer Fire Brigade marks 25 years with community get-together

Greerton volunteer firefighters Kerry Gordon, Aaron Moore, James Bedford, Krystal Brayshaw, Aaron Topham, Jacob Fe’ao and Jason Mirams are celebrating their brigade’s 25 years. Photo / David Hall

From house, commercial building and scrub fires, to motor vehicle crashes, to a budgie stuck down a drainpipe, Greerton volunteer firefighters have done it all in their brigade’s 25 years of service.

To celebrate the milestone, and thank their community for supporting them, Greerton Volunteer Fire Brigade is hosting a family-friendly show-and-tell of their history at the carpark behind Greerton RSA on Saturday.

Greerton volunteer brigade’s senior member Kerry Gordon said the afternoon would be jam-packed with family activities, entertainment, fire safety education, and firefighting jibber-jabber.

The event will start with the station’s fire trucks parading through Greerton at 1pm to park up in the carpark behind Greerton RSA.

From 2pm it’s action time – there will be a variety of new and old fire trucks on display, kids’ activities, a sausage sizzle, fire safety demonstrations, and firies will be present, sharing all their memorable callouts.

Greerton volunteer firefighters Aaron Topham, Jacob Fe’ao, Jason Mirams, James Bedford, Krystal Brayshaw, Aaron Moore and Kerry Gordon welcome the community to their 25-year celebration behind Greerton RSA on October 26. Photo/ David Hall.

Especially those of Greerton volunteer brigade’s three original members – Aaron Moore, Melvern Wainwright and Steve Bolton – who are still on the roster.

Gordon said the day was all about acknowledging the community for supporting them and the three OGs “who are still in service 25 years later”.

“The public’s interaction with firefighters is usually during a disaster, so this is an opportunity to see the other side, ordinary people doing an extra-ordinary role,” Gordon said.

“This is a perfect opportunity to bring the family down, look at the trucks, grab a photo and even show your interest in becoming a volunteer firefighter or a career firefighter.”

The fire safety demonstrations will also remind attendees of how to be fire-safe at home – a crucial preventative measure to stop Greerton volunteers having to get out the fire trucks.

“We’ve booked the kitchen fire demonstrator, which will show what to do if there’s a pot on the stove that catches fire. We show them how to put it out safely.”

Gordon said they would also explain what to do if a fire got too big or it was not safe to extinguish safely.

“If it gets too big, get everybody out of the house and close the doors as you go out.”

Greerton volunteer firefighters will also share their memorable stories, from the cats stuck up trees to major local fires they’ve attended like at Metal Man in Judea, or the fire on Matakana Island, or the Good Local pub fire in Pyes Pā.

They may even tell the story of when recently a couple of volunteers were in a house fire that changed quickly and the roof collapsed on them, and lived to tell the tale.

Join them to celebrate 25 years of service as they thank the community for their support.

- SunLive