Rotorua Fire Station Open Day great family day out

Families were able to get up close and personal and learn more about what the local fire brigades do at an open day at the weekend.

Senior firefighter Dane O'Brien said the open day included a motor vehicle accident extraction demonstration where a car was cut up, a home sprinkler demonstration showing the effect of having sprinklers in the house and a kitchen fire demonstration.

There were also several fire appliances on display, not just from the Rotorua Fire Brigade, but also Lake Okareka and Ngongotaha.

The open day featured a register for a home fire safety visit, the station being open for the public to have a look through, and a lot of giveaways for the children such as posters, stickers and tattoos, he said.

O'Brien said the event went really well and he estimated that throughout the day, from 10am to 1pm, they had about 2000 people come through, with most being families.

He said in the 12 years he had worked for the station this was the first open day they had held.

It would definitely be something they would look at holding more often, he said.

O'Brien said when they cut up the car in the motor vehicle accident demonstration there were probably 400 to 600 people watching.

The kitchen fire demonstration was also popular because it was a very visual display, and the children loved the fire trucks and getting up close to them, he said.

"It gives an opportunity to be able to promote fire safety and for the public to be able to get up close, meet the firefighters, see where we operate from and the various things we use to carry out our job."

O'Brien said he had enjoyed seeing the looks on the children's faces.

"It was a great day and we thank the public for coming along."

Cindalee Terehu-Tuki, who went with her son, thought it was a great event to be held for families where children could watch demonstrations of what the fire service actually did in the work force.

She said there was great shared information about safety around fire and the promotion of volunteers.

"It was great to see families out and about.

"My son enjoyed the lights of the fire engines and running around to look at the fire station, comparing pictures to his own book about fire engines."