On Tuesday 21st members of Hutt Valley Fire Police Unit travelled to Wainuiomata Fire Station for the Annual General Meeting of the Hutt-Wellington-Kapiti Sub Association of the United Fire Brigades Association.

This night was particularly interesting for HVFP members; For the past 12 months our Officer in Charge, SSO David Ackroyd, has been serving as President of the Sub Association, and Fire Policeman Alex Roberts has been Senior Vice President. Of note also are SO Mike Lock and FP Mark Morton, both as Junior Vice Presidents.

This AGM saw SSO Ackroyd step down as President and move into the role of 'Immediate Past President'. He had the pleasure of presenting to FP Roberts his 'promotion' to President. In response FP Roberts presents SSO Ackroyd with the 'Past President's pin.

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SSO Ackroyd presenting to FP Roberts.... and FP Roberts returning the favour.

FP Roberts in his new role as President, was able to welcome in the newest member of the Sub Association Executive, FF Brent Penny from Upper Hutt Volunteer Fire Brigade. He was also able to confirm and congratulate the Association Patron, Mr Gordon Hamilton, for his reappointment.

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The Guest Speaker for the evening was the outgoing Immediate Past President, SO Rachael Thorp of Upper Hutt VFB, who gave a very interesting talk on the Australian Bushfires of February 2009. SO Thorp is employed as a Rural Fire Officer for the Department of Conservation and was amongst the first New Zealand Deployment to the bushfires which devastated the state of Victoria earlier this year.

The Sub Association is an excellent forum for the local Volunteer Fire Brigades (and Units!). HVFP encourages volunteer fire brigades from the Greater Wellington area to take an active interest in the Sub Association and the services and support it is able to provide for training, competitions and social events.

The evening of Saturday 2 May saw Expressions in Upper Hutt hosting a charity boxing event that starred some very close colleagues of ours - Firefighters from the Hutt Valley opposed by the Upper Hutt Police. Up for grabs? The trophy and the pride of the respective services. The real reason? All profits were handed over to a list of charities - the Life Flight Trust, Womens Refuge, Blue Light Ventures, Wellington Free Ambulance, Canteen and Victim Support.

Members of Hutt Valley and Wainuiomata Fire Police Units were on hand to assist on the night; we assisted with safety and security related duties, keeping an eye on the fire exits and generally helping out where we can.

Boxers getting ready to rumble!

A great night, with a sell-out crowd and some excellent bouts - with participants from Fire Stations across the Valley, and from the Upper Hutt Police.

Some excellent fights had the crowd on the edges of their seats (or off them entirely) at various stages of the evening. The bouts were arranged as 3x 2 minute rounds, with judges decisions as final.

The final verdict?

Updated. Members of the Hutt Valley Volunteer Fire Police were in attendance at ANZAC day ceremonies across the valley today. As a Unit we are proud to be able to show our respects to those who have served.

At Upper Hutt, the Dawn Parade was well attended. A significant contingent from the NZ Defence Force were joined by the New Zealand Police, New Zealand Fire Service, New Zealand Cadet Forces, and other uniformed youth and service organisations (such as the Scouts) joined with members of the Upper Hutt RSA to pay homage to those who have served, at Gallipoli and elsewhere.

An RNZAF Iroquois performed a flypast as the service got underway. MAJGEN Rhys Jones, Commander Joint Forces New Zealand, was the guest speaker of the morning, and spoke of the respect that New Zealand Servicemen and Women have garnered across the world during our overseas operations.

After the bugle, hymns and march back to the Upper Hutt RSA, participants were invited inside for breakfast and an opportunity to socialise and for many, to reminisce.

FP Alex Roberts, FP Bruce Key, SSO David Ackroyd, FP Mark Foster, on completion of the ANZAC Day Dawn Service formalities in Upper Hutt.
Image courtesy FF Nic Stephens, Upper Hutt VFB.

We Will Remember Them.

Saturday, April 18 2009 saw the Hutt Valley Fire Police Unit hold both a UFBA Honours Presentation, and a Gold Star Celebration for one of our longest serving members, Senior Fire Policeman Phil Campbell.

The first order of the evening was the UFBA Honours.

Members of HVFP Parade in preparation to receive honours.

Two members of our Unit were given the opportunity to support the Firewise campaign which aims to teach kids about fire safety in the home. FP Bruce Key and FP Ingrid Vlieg had the privilege of kitting up as Flint and Amber on one of their first public appearances at Queensgate, Lower Hutt on Sunday February 8 from 1000 to 1500. Ingrid and Bruce started the day by meeting DCFO Bernie Rush at Hutt City station who arranged Level Two PPE, and introduced them to their alter-egos who were smiling at them from their crate in the Engine Bay.

Thankful that there was going to be air-conditioning they donned red capes, gloves, yellow toe-caps and completed their transformations with the head-dress which concealed them so effectively that vision became a challenge.

On Sunday 1 February the Unit assisted Hutt and Seaview stations at the Te Ra O Te Raukura Festival. Members looked after NZFS promotional and fire safety equipment and helped distribute stickers and booklets to members of the public.

As you can see from the below photos, one of our members wound up demonstrating exactly what it was all about!

It was estimated that up to 20,000 attended on the day.
Thanks to FP Bruce Key and SO Mike Lock for their contributions to this article.

HVFP was approached by Upper Hutt City Council to provide assistance at the ZM Run Swim event at the Upper Hutt Swimming Pools this morning. FP Mark Foster, with Rimutaka 4928, attended and provided road cones and setup assistance for the marshalling area for the transition from run-to-swim.

The Run Swim Series, sponsored by the popular radio station ZM, consists of a number of duathalon style events for women run across the region between October 2008 and February 2009. Supported by the local city councils and by Sport and Recreation New Zealand (think 'Push Play'), they provide an opportunity for people to 'get involved' at their own capability level. The Upper Hutt event consisted of a 5km run followed by a 400m swim.

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Above: RIMU4928 outside H20 Xtreme, Upper Hutt Pools. The event is part of the SPARC 'Push Play' initiative to help people stay fit and healthy.

The Hutt Valley Fire Police Unit were again proud to be asked to support the 2008 Upper Hutt Santa Parade, held down the Main Street of Upper Hutt on a brilliant Saturday afternoon, 6 December.

The Unit assisted with the management of the parade by providing Unit personnel to control the major road closures and assist with general crowd and traffic management assistance as required by the organisers.

This was a fun-filled event that was enjoyed by the public of Upper Hutt.

On behalf of the people of Upper Hutt we thank the organisers of this activity for another great day.

Hutt Valley Fire Police were tasked with a very important job on Saturday the 6th of December.

Two of our members had the honour of delivering Father Christmas in Rimatuka 4926 to the Cossie Club staff picnic which was held at Kaitoke Water Works Regional Park north of Upper Hutt City.

Hutt Valley Fire Police, along with Upper Hutt VFB and the Upper Hutt Rural Fire Force, assisted at the Fireworks Fantastic event again this year. Like previous years, this is a big (and impressive) fireworks display to mark Guy Fawkes, along with fair rides and a live stage show.
A small part of the event can be viewed below, as well as some safety pointers for this years celebrations.

Members of the Unit assisted with crowd management and safety tasks throughout the evening. Other key players were Upper Hutt Rotary (the Organisers), 22 Sqn Air Training Corps and the New Zealand Police.