Saturday 21st April was to be a day of fun for the unit as we spent the day at the Upper Hutt toy Library, talking to the kids about what to do in case of a fire and other fire safety tips. We took along the educational blowup house and the kids demonstrated to members how to get down, get low and get out.

The kids also dressed up in the small fire uniforms and having there photos taken while sitting in the truck. Every child that came along went home with a bag full of promo material and other goodies to talk about with their friends and family.
We also spoke to a lot of the parents about smoke alarms and the different types that were available on the market and how often they should be checked.

The day also proved to be a good one for the toy library as they signed up some new members, including one member of the fire support unit, Well done Mel.

We would like to thank the Toy library for allowing us to come along and talk to the families about being Fire Wise

The object of the exercise was to rescue an unknown number of children and adults from a drain in Moonshine Park, Upper Hutt. Due to the fact daylight savings has robbed us of the late daylight evenings the first requirement was to establish lighting so the rescue crews could perform their task. The crews successfully rescued 3 children from the drain who were unable to walk due (fake) injuries. Unfortunately the adult (aka Resus Annie) bled out due to her arms falling off and pronouced K41-1 at the scene. Many thanks to Storm, Ruarri and Skye for being our admirable patients for the exercise.

The Pacific Child Health day was held at Avalon Park on Saturday 31st March 2012 between 9.30am and 1.30pm. The HVFS were asked if they would like assist with promoting. The ultralight was set up with the canopy extended and a table with promotional material for the children and adults who attend. An emphasis was made by the unit on smoke detectors to compliment the current television adverts. The event was well supported by other organisations and guess attendance by Hurricane Rugby players.

HVFS joined up once again with the NZ Police, Neighbourhood Watch on a sunny afternoon for another successful meet your neighbours gathering. With the Police busy cooking on the BBQ everyone enjoying the free sausages on offer. HVFS was on hand to hand out promotional material as well as participating in a game of cricket and abit of tug of war!
Fun was had by all who attended.

Although the Hutt river was high, the wind gusted and it was raining steadily the Hutt Valley was spared alot of damage and hence fire calls during the worst of the weather. Wainuiomata however was hit with high winds and heavy rain resulting in trees down over powerlines and buildings flooded. HVFS was called in to assist Wanuiomata Volunteer Fire Brigade with flooding at Fernlea School. We arrived at the same time as the commercial cleaners with their industrial machines so our aquavacs were surplus to requirements. Due to the large number of callouts in Wainuiomata we remained on standby at Wainuiomata Fire Station to assist when and where we could. RIMU4928 and crew relieved the Wainuiomata Fire Support Unit at their callout in Moores Valley Road where trees had fallen bringing down the powerlines.

Due to the looming weather bomb predicted by the met service all crew members were put on call for the weekend. to kick it off HVFS were paged to a structure fire at 11.30pm was not what was envisioned however we had a great turnout of members. HVFS took over from the Police at the road blocks shutting a section of Ferguson drive off for all traffic except emergency vehicles. Canteen refreshments were also supplied during the evening as well as lighting inside the building so Fire Safety could conduct their investigation. Two members remained at the scene with RIMU4926 until fire safety returned at 7am.

The HVFS assisted in a promotional event with the Upper Hutt City Council, Neighbourhood Watch and Upper Hutt Police for a neighbours evening in Trentham. Due to the rain the blowup educational house was not used and the venue was shifted from Ferguson Intermediate to the shops in Merton Street. A free sausage sizzle was provided and we spent the evening handing out fire service promotional material to the children and adults who attended.

At 7.36pm HVFS were called for assistance to clean up a large area of water in a flat resulting from a broken hot water cylinder. Only 3 members were able to respond but the job was quickly completed and left n the hands of the owner.

Members were tasked with a wet exercise, with a simulated burst water pipe at the top of the training tower at Trentham station. We were tasked with channelling the water out of the building's window, using tarps, lines and alot of teamwork!
After a quick brainstorm session HVFS team set to work with setting up a "slide" with our tarps from the floor above out of the nearest window, while some members stayed at the bottom and put together a portable dam to catch the water coming out of the window.
Another fantastic training night was had by all and most of us were very wet by the end of it.
HVFS would like to thank the crew from Upper Hutt Volunteer Fire Brigade who supplied water to the dry riser of the tower for our exercise.

Its that time of the year where the Petone fair is held in Jackson Street. Supporting the Rotary, Petone Fair is an annual event for HVFS who assist with road closures, crowd control including giving guidance to stall holders with setting up in the morning and packing up at the end of the day.

While the Fair is open, members maintain a presence at the road closures but also mingle with the public and provide crowd control and personal assistance, such as advising where the alternative bus routes are running or giving directions if this is required.