They say good things take time.
When it comes to the Arrowtown volunteer fire brigade’s new medical first response vehicle, never a truer word has been spoken.
About six years after senior firefighter and Arrowtown Volunteer Fire Brigade Trust secretary Alex Holden first suggested the brigade should look to replace its ageing first response vehicle, that replacement has finally been commissioned.
It followed a mammoth fundraising effort, largely within the community, to find the budgeted $150,000 required.
"Thanks to some generous people, the actual budget’s come down a wee bit, but we’ve probably spent about $120,000 to $130,000 of that ... with some more new equipment to still buy."
The old first response vehicle, commissioned at the end of December, 2005, following another community fundraising effort, completed 909 calls before it went off the run a few weeks ago.
Mr Holden said its replacement, "Arrowtown 7833", would primarily be used to respond to medical jobs in and around the village, attend car accidents and be able to access more remote areas, including Macetown and Skippers.
However, Mr Holden said the greatest benefit of the new truck was the increased protection it gave volunteer firefighters.
"This vehicle’s got [a] five-star safety rating for every single seat, which is a big thing for me and for our firefighters.
"We’re able to go above the speed limits when we’re responding, so we want our guys to be safe.
"It keeps all our gear a lot safer, it’s better laid out, there’s better access for us as well and it’s just a later model, new technology ... automatic [and] a bit more capable of going off-road as well."
While the Arrowtown brigade had to raise the money to buy the vehicle, Fire and Emergency New Zealand would "fully support" its running, covering operational costs, road user charges, fuel and maintenance, Mr Holden said.
