By Jo Myers
For close to 150 years the Feilding Volunteer Fire Brigade has been keeping watch over the people of the town and their prized possessions.
There is a small display at the Coach House Museum which pays tribute to the brigade and its history. Along with a number of firefighting tools there is a large photograph, undated, which shows firefighters with their trusty machine.
There’s also an old-fashioned fireman’s helmet on display.
The brigade’s first fire appliance, a manual pump that could be hooked up to what ever water source was available, was named Victor.
Check out the story boards alongside the large photograph.
The brigade’s history began when a few of Feilding’s prominent businessmen decided, in view of some recent fires in the town, that more needed to be done to protect life and property.
It took about 12 months, and one unsuccessful attempt, to convince the townspeople of the need for such a service and to raise the money to make it happen, but eventually, on May 23, 1888, the Feilding Volunteer Fire Brigade came into being.
Setting up the bucket brigade operation meant designating a series of wells around the town that could be tapped into as needed. And of course, the brigade needed volunteers. Today there are 32 firefighters with another eight support staff. The numbers fluctuate as people’s circumstances change.
If it seems the fire siren sounds often in Feilding that may be because the brigade attends more than 400 call-outs every year. Each volunteer wears a pager to alert them to a call-out, so the siren is a back up.
Along with the Feilding brigade there are others in rural areas around the district who work together if the need arises.
Of course, its not just the firefighters who are involved in keeping the town safe. Businesses who employ those firefighters know their workers may have to rush off at any time in response to their pager.
So next time you visit the Coach House Museum, check out the display and read about how it all began.
Caption: The old fireman’s helmet that has seen many years of action