- Staff
- Woodend is staffed entirely by
volunteers, currently 22 firefighters and 2 Operational Support.
-
- The first firefighters to arrive at
the station for a call crew the vehicle(s).
For the pump (Wood 777), this is usually a driver and an officer in the
front, and, depending on the availability of staff, 2-4 firefighters in the
rear of the cab.
For the tanker (Wood 7711), and Jeep 4x4 (Wood 7710)this is usually a driver
and an officer,and depending on availability an extra crew member on 7711
& 7710
We operate a roster system to ensure we maintain a operational crew 24/7.
This allows other staff not rostered on for the weekend to go about their
normal outings etc. This ‘Duty crew operate from 1800hrs Fri to 0800 Mon
-
- These crews are rostered
on, in turn for a weeks duty.
- What this means is, that if you are on duty
you must be available from 1800hrs Friday until 0800 Monday.
- If you intend to
leave the district during your 'duty' time you must arrange a replacement from
other members of the Brigade.
- This system has operated since 1989 and ensures we
have sufficient crew to respond immediately.
- Routine Station duties are also
carried out by the duty crew.
OPERATIONAL
SUPPORT
The Operational Support staff respond to the fire station when an incident
occurs and they travel in the support vehicle (Woodend 7726), then they do
traffic control, crowd control, salvage and security at the incident.
This can involve diverting traffic from the highway onto country roads after
major crashes, until the roadway is cleared.
They do not wear firefighting gear, but
usually wear jackets with a jerkin on top, with the words "OPERATIONAL
SUPPORT" on it, and their helmets are blue with that wording.
Some districts have support staff called
"FIRE POLICE ", who perform similar tasks to the Operational Support
but have the powers of the police bestowed upon them.
For more information on the Fire Police,
go to the Hutt Valley
Volunteer Fire Police site.
MUSTERS
Woodend Brigade training is held from 1900 hours to 2100 hours (7pm to 9pm) on
every Monday.
GOLD STAR
MEMBERS
When a member of a fire brigade reaches the milestone of 25 years of service,
this is recognised with the presentation of a Gold Star, usually at a special
function. After 3 years service a certificate is presented, then they
receive at 5 years a silver Medal, and then at each subsequent 2 year interval
(i.e. at 7 years, 9 years etc) a 2 year silver bar is presented to be attached
to the ribbon of the Medal. The 25 year Gold Star replaces the 5 Year Medal and
9 bars, and then the 2 year cycle continues with a gold bar at 27 years, and 29
years etc.
WOODEND GOLD STAR MEMBERS
