The Nelson volunteer fire brigade is once again seeking more members to bolster its ranks.
Two years ago Nelson Weekly published a story about low numbers at the Nelson brigade. Fourteen people came along to check it out the following week but senior fire fighter Chris Dyer says they’re back to square one.
“We had a really good response last time but some didn’t pass the breathing test because they had asthma, some have moved away from Nelson, one had to have a shoulder operation so had to go and others were just unable to carry on due to work commitments.”
So the brigade is now back down to six and Chris says he’d like to see that double. Volunteers practice once a week on a Sunday night and attend jobs roughly four to six times a month. “It goes up and down but last month has been busy. Because we’re part of the paid staff we’re not super busy but also because we’re part of the paid staff we don’t get woken at 3 o’clock in the morning for an alarm going off. Generally if we go, it’s an actual job, not a false alarm.”
The minimum age for volunteers is 16 and Chris says there is no upper limit. He says volunteers learn all sorts of skills, including first aid. It has a great social feel as well as helping the community.
If you’re interested in learning more you can call them on 546 2100.
