The keen amongst you may have noticed a callout on Monday night for the Unit along the lines of:

(RIMU4928,RIMU4926) .. TRENTHAM, UPPER HUTT: ROOF OFF BUILDING SALVAGE REQUIRED

Yes indeed... Hutt Valley Fire Police now officially have 'Salvage' on their list of capabilities.

Salvage is, for the record, the art of saving property from, and preventing further, damage. In the case of the New Zealand Fire Service, Salvage tasks are usually oriented at situations such as:

• Domestic Flooding (eg burst pipes)
  
• Commercial Flooding (eg sprinkler activations)
  
• Roof Damage / Lifting Roofing Iron (often caused by strong winds).
  

The types of damage that can be prevented through artful Salvage are primarily from Smoke and Water; often only a single room is actually exposed to flames but an entire house can be trashed by the soot, smoke and fumes from that fire - and by the water used to extinguish it.

Rimutaka 4928 is now equipped with Salvage equipment; Aquavac's (vacuum cleaners designed to suck water) and Salvage Sheets (very strong tarps/groundsheets with useful tie-ropes attached) and other useful tools; brooms, squeegies and even an auger. The callout above was actually a Unit exercise, put on to allow HVFP to drill Salvage techniques - and also train with our lighting equipment.

Most appliances carry a very small amount of generic salvage equipment (a couple of Salvage Sheets and some basic hand tools) but only dedicated Salvage Tenders come equipped with a larger range of Salvage equipment. Our friends over at Wellington Fire Support are well equipped for the Salvage role and have been working in this space for a while, but it's a relatively new feather in the HVFP's proverbial cap. With the dedicated Salvage role no longer held by the folks at Tawa Volunteer Fire Brigade, it's a long haul from Kilbirnie station to much of the Hutt Valley; thus HVFP are now providing a first-response capability for Salvage in the Hutt Valley.

For larger jobs, we will have option to call upon Kilbirnie 2426 for backup; likewise they now know that we can provide mutual assistance in Central Wellington should the need arise.

In preparation for taking on this role, Wellington Fire Support received a visit from the HVFP on Monday 7 September. On this evening WFSU provided HVFP with orientation on their Salvage equipment and helped us come to grips with our new equipment.

FP Roberts, Chambers Bedford and SFP Robinson discuss Salvage methods with SSO Arons of Wellington Fire Support (Second from Right)

SSO Ackroyd of HVFP illustrating that with Wellington Fire Support and Hutt Fire Police now cross-trained and thus familiar with eachothers equipment, we can better help our fellow Firefighters across the wider region. (SSO Ackroyd is shown operating an Aquavac from Kilbirnie 2426).