Good Sorts - Waimate Fire Brigades - Ready to Respond
Listen carefully the next time the siren goes in Waimate. Very quickly, you’ll hear cars start up and see locals running toward the station. It’s not full-time firefighters answering the call, but people from across the community dropping everything to get where they are needed most.
There are four fire brigades in Waimate District; Waimate, Glenavy, Waihaorunga and St Andrews, and every firefighter is a volunteer.
According to Steve Pali, chief of the Waimate brigade, emergency response is a combined effort in a rural area; the fire brigades, PRIME nurse and doctor, police and ambulance all work together to get the job done. He’s proud of what the emergency services do here, they support each other and make a great team.
He acknowledged that volunteering isn’t always easy or convenient, you never know when you might be called to respond. “Take farmers, for example - they might be working alone, things don’t get done when they’re not there.” Add in families, other jobs and mandatory training and the ask could seem significant.
Judging by the new recruits coming through the Waimate brigade and the length of service at the other end, it’s a commitment plenty of locals (and their employers) are willing to make.
The demands of the work also bring social benefits according to Stu Verrall, chief of the Waihaorunga brigade. These days rural people don’t always know their neighbours, transient workforces come and go, and long hours and external pressures can create stress and isolation. For many, the fire brigade fills that gap.
Training nights, call-outs, BBQs, weekends away and family outings create chances to connect. It’s social mixed with service, and that connection pays off when emergencies happen. Crews know each other well, trust each other, and can work seamlessly under pressure because they’ve built those relationships outside of the fire truck.
As Stu puts it: “The brigade brings people together - it connects families as much as it protects them.”
Our rural brigades have a reputation of ‘getting the job done’ at a national level. Emergency 111 call operators know that when a rural emergency comes through, they’ll just deal with things” Steve said. “They operate differently, with a can-do attitude.”
The district’s volunteers carry a pager and use the Fire and Emergency NZ’s Availability Messaging System (AMS) app. It uses background location tracking to automatically map incident responses, show who’s headed in, and flag when someone moves beyond a 5km “bubble,” marking them as unavailable - helping manage real-time availability.
Our brigade’s handle a range of emergencies including fires, medical issues, vehicle crashes, search and rescue, civil defence and even natural disaster response.
If you want to find out more about joining, head here: fireandemergency.nz/volunteer