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HERE-TURI-KOKA 2023
Fire Brigade's 'first family's' tireless work for EB The Eastbourne Fire Brigade, probably like most volunteer brigades, is a real family affair. Sons and daughters have followed parents and grandparents into the brigade over the past century, siblings have served alongside each other, and spouses have jumped on the same truck to help people in our community. The brigade’s records have multiple entries for numerous local families: Alexander, Anderson, Dalziel, Dellabarca, Gage, Green, Laws, Lenihan, Lowndes, Lucchesi, Millman, Morrison, Rudman, Stevens, Watson. And then there’s the Carroll family. Evan Carroll joined the brigade in Days Bay in 1945 before moving to Eastbourne in 1954, serving until 1989, including as a memorable fire chief and recipient of the Queen’s Fire Service Medal. Ross Carroll (pictured right) says he was just one year old when he moved into the new fire station on Makaro Street with his parents, and grew up playing around the trucks. Ross followed in his father’s footsteps in 1975, beginning a 44-year career in the Eastbourne brigade, eventually serving as Chief in his own right. His firefighting career, however, began long before he officially joined the ranks. “I think when I was around seven or eight I got roped into breaking and entering jobs. I was thrown through windows to open doors for the fire crews.” 1968 brought the Wahine disaster. While the brigade was totally committed down the coast, the call came in for a chimney fire in Mahoe Street. “Jimmy Morrison was the only firefighter
left so the two of us went in a car and put the fire out.” Ross was a seasoned veteran by the time he joined the brigade officially in 1975 and then fell under the critical eye of his dad who “didn’t mince words”. Firefighting was a tough gig back then, with house and building fires and all-too-regular bush fires. When Ross started, the brigade had only two breathing apparatus sets (BA). “The first two went into a fire with sets and the rest went in without them. It wasn’t until the mid-1990s that we had four sets on each truck.” Ross’s most memorable firefighting moment? Entering a burning house that was being renovated behind the old post office with Barry Ray: “I went in with Baz and we were hit by a flashover [a near simultaneous ignition of combustible material within an enclosed area]. It was really hot. There were puddles of aluminium on the floor from the scaffolding.” It wasn’t all about fires. There was a lot of sport, including the Joslin Cup contested annually between Eastbourne clubs, the council and bus drivers. “We were a hell of a family oriented outfit. We worked hard and we played hard.” There was also a lot of random work not strictly related to firefighting. “Who knows how many pianos we moved,” says Ross. It worked both ways. “We would spend six or seven days at a scrub fire and people would turn up with thermoses.” There was a downside to serving in such a tight community. “Everyone we went to, we knew. That was hard. We also couldn’t do anything wrong,” says Ross.
Ross’s mum, Lyn, (known to firefighters as “Mrs Carroll”) was an integral part of the Eastbourne brigade over the five decades she lived at the station. She took the calls in the watchroom and alerted the fire crews and then monitored the radio when they were on the job. And guess who got to clean the filthy gear after the troops returned from days tackling scrub fires? Ross says his family did what they did for the community. “It was just the way we were brought up. We were there for Eastbourne. We had a lot of pride in what we did.” “There was a saying we had. When somebody dials 111 they’re either having a really bad day or they’re having their last day, and we were the only ones there. That basically governed what we did as a brigade.” Continues on Page 3
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