Fire Brigade Information

Darfield Fire Brigade

SATURDAY 17th December 2022

(Postponement Date: Sunday 18th December)

Urban & Rural trucks will leave the Fire Station (North Terrace) at approximately 5pm and travel around Darfield!

CAN DRIVE! Donate a can of non-perishable food or packet of dry goods, which will be given to the

Darfield Food Bank, in exchange for some lollies!

Merry Christmas to you all!

OPEN DAY

Springfield Volunteer Fire Brigade held their Open Day on Sunday,

December 11th. This was the perfect opportunity for members of the local community to see what the Brigade does, have a look at their gear, and a few people signed up to be volunteers. Please remember to take care around barbeques this holiday season.

The Springfield Volunteer Fire Brigade wishes everyone a safe and happy Christmas.

Above: A display showing a kitchen fire and what happens if you put water on an oil or fat fire.

To keep up-to-date with what the Brigade is up to or to see some footage from the Open Day visit their Facebook page: Springfield Fire Brigade.

Christmas shopping is well underway and Fire and Emergency New Zealand is reminding people to be cautious around lithium-ion batteries. Make sure you charge them on a hard, flat surface - not under a pillow, on a bed or couch - they can overheat and cause a fire. If you notice anything unusual with your battery, stop using it straight away. This could be anything like a strange smell or a change in colour, too much heat, a change in shape, swelling, leaking, or odd noises. People also need to be careful when disposing of lithium-ion batteries. Do not put them in the rubbish. SDC and E-Cycle have teamed up to bring a battery recycling programme to the Selwyn Community. The service accepts the following battery types: • Lithium-ion (used in laptops, mobile phones, tools) • Alkaline, dry cell and zinc (used in flashlights, radios, remote controls, smoke detectors) • Button cell/coin (used in watches, hearing aids) • Nickel-cadmium (used in portable electronics, tools, toys) • Nickel-metal hydride (used in digital cameras, laptops, mobile phones).

New World supermarkets are supporting the Council initiative, with drop off points at

New World Rolleston and New World Lincoln, as well as at the

Darfield Library and Service

Centre and the Pines Resource Recovery Park. When batteries are collected they will be sorted and held until there is sufficient volume to send for recycling in Australia - where 7090% of the battery is recycled into new batteries or ingredients used in roading mixes and fertilisers. Nickel-cadmium and Lithium-ion batteries are forwarded on to a specialist recycling plant in South Korea.

CANTERBURY CHAMPS

New to the competition event of Waterways, Jake Baxter and Emma Pennells from Darfield Volunteer Fire Brigade took out the Canterbury honours last Saturday. The event was held at Darfield Recreation Centre with six, two person teams, from throughout Canterbury competing. The Waterway Challenge is a fun, team-orientated event that taps into vital pump and hose skills. Each step of the process relies on team work - the hose to the pump, the standpipe to the hydrant, connectors extending twenty five metres. Only through precision, speed and working together can you hit the target. The Waterway Challenge has been an enduring UFBA tradition since it was first introduced back in 1885. It's an opportunity to put hose-running and pumpoperating skills to the test in a competitive environment. This event is designed to make firefighters better firefighters so, when the alarm goes off they are there to serve the community as best they can. A lot of training goes into getting ready for a competition event and Jake and Emma would like to thank all those involved with helping them. The next event is the South Island Waterways Challenge on the 4th February in Cromwell, followed by the National Challenge on the 17th and 18th February, in Methven. The team at the Malvern News wish Jake and Emma all the best for their upcoming competitions.

Emma Pennells running out a hose.