119th Annual Report 2017-18

119TH

ANNUAL REPORT

for the year ended 30th June 2018

REPORT FROM THE OIC I am pleased to present this 119th Annual Report for the year ended 30th June 2018.

With the bulk of personnel changes behind us and a strong membership base, we have focused on developing our skills, resources and connections with other brigades and agencies.

This year saw a drop in call-outs, possibly due to better fire suppression techniques and the efficient work of the first responding crews. When we are called on, our skills in traffic management and evacuation support have been vital in keeping the scene, crews and public safe.

A reduction in annual call-outs is a double-edged sword. On one hand, we have seen less stand down and minor calls. On the other hand, we face the challenge of maintaining the interest and skills of our members. To keep member’s interest we have added greater variety to our training and started to partner with sister agencies who face similar issues such as Red Cross and Civil Defence.

A key area we are exploring is a greater connection with other Operational Support units and personnel within our region. We see a great benefit co-ordinating our training, resources and response rather than keeping to our own ‘patches’.

OUR TEAM MEMBERSHIP 2017–18 Members at 1 July 17: 12 Members Resigned: 6 New Members: 9 Members at 30 June 18: 15

Our membership continues to grow and we continue to have a steady stream of interested people making contact. We now bring people in as observers for a few training musters so that they understand the commitment required.

Having enough members available during normal business hours continues to be a challenge, however we are connecting with Operational Support members from other brigades who work in the CBD in-order to fill this gap.

RFF Cullum Peni has taken on our recruitment portfolio and is currently working on a marketing strategy.

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WELLINGTON VOLUNTEER FIRE SERVICE SUPPORT UNIT

MEET OUR TEAM

Business Owner and Graphic Designer

PHILIP HARRIS SO - DOIC/BTO

Fixed Wing Crew LifeFlight

BRIAN ARONS SO

Nanny

CATHERINE COE QFF - SECRETARY

HR Advisor Fire and Emergency NZ

NORM KELLY QFF -TREASURER Project Manager Department of Conservation

AMAR RAMAN FF

Business Owner and Software Developer

PAMELA BRUCE FF

STEPHEN LAMBERT FF - FF REP

CHELSEA CALVERT FF - WELFARE REP Operations Advisor Dept of Corrections and Wellington Free Ambulance Volunteer

ALEX COUSINS RFF

University Student Studying Marketing Psychology

CULLUM PENI RFF

RAY PENIAMINA RFF

MICHAEL SANDERSON RFF

LIAM WAKE RFF

JANE STEVENS SSF

Abseiling Rope Access Supervisor

Airport Operations Coordinator Wellington Airport

JONO ASHMAN SSO - OIC

3D Visual Effects Weta Workshop

Tenant Liaison Team Leader - Housing NZ

Delivery Driver

Retired

Tiler

119TH ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30TH JUNE 2018

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MANAGEMENT The Management Committee meets as and when necessary to discuss matters pertaining to the smooth running of the brigade.

THE MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE Officer in Charge/Chair:

SSO Jono Ashman

Deputy:

SO Philip Harris

Secretary:

QFF Catherine Coe

Treasurer:

QFF Norm Kelly

Firefighter Representative:

FF Stephen Lambert

We held six brigade meetings during the year enabling all members to have a voice and help to shape the brigade. It is great to have an enthusiastic team, willing and able to take on a variety of tasks.

FIRE AND EMERGENCY NEW ZEALAND Fire and Emergency NZ has made sure to consult with volunteer brigades involving them in discussions including uniform and PPE evolutions, command and control and how we best serve the New Zealand public.

We appreciate the lengths Fire and Emergency has gone to listen to our needs and ideas and are excited to see how the organisation will grow in the coming years.

SAFETY, HEALTH AND WELLBEING We are proud of our good Safety, Health and Wellbeing record, with no serious injuries or incidents recorded during this period. We undertake regular debriefs and Safety, Health and Wellbeing meetings to raise and resolve issues before they become a problem. These meetings not only deal with physical safety issues but provide a positive environment to discuss the long-term health and mental wellbeing of our members.

Undertaking a variety of joint training

03

WELLINGTON VOLUNTEER FIRE SERVICE SUPPORT UNIT

EQUIPMENT There is plenty of equipment that we have identified as necessary to acquire in-order to perform our duties safely and efficiently. However, there has been little progress in this period. This is largely due to the fact that Operational Support is a second tier in Fire and Emergency NZ’s Capex system resulting in funding delays and rejections.

While we will persevere developing business cases and submitting Capex requests we do have a large amount of savings which we have earmarked for equipment spending in the new year.

INCIDENT CALLS During this year there were 56 incident calls which resulted in over 370 hours being recorded by members. As mentioned earlier, this a reduction of calls from past years but the duration of time at the incidents has increased.

Once again the trend is moving steadily away from salvage duties and more towards logistical fire support, traffic management and evacuation support.

TRAINING By reducing the amount of brigade meetings, we have increased the number of training musters to 41. This has greatly decreased the time taken to train recruits and progress members skills.

We have performed a number of joint training exercises with other brigades including Newlands, Johnsonville, Porirua, Titahi Bay and Upper Hutt/Wairarapa Operational Support. An exercise of note was held at BidFood Foodservice factory in Porirua. This 3rd alarm exercise with Porirua, Titahi Bay and the Command Unit 2118 provided our team with vital on-the-job experience in scene protection, communications, logistics and medical triage. The more joint training and exercises we undertake the better other staff understand our role and capabilities.

I’d like to thank our Regional Trainer, Ben Colbert, who has been very helpful providing resources and leading key training.

119TH ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30TH JUNE 2018

04

SOCIAL ACTIVITIES It is important that the brigade maintains strong social bonds outside of training and deployment.

Thank you to SFF Jane Stevens for organising a number of social events during the year which were enjoyed by all.

UFBA CONFERENCE The UFBA’s 139th Annual Conference, held in Auckland, was attended by myself as the delegate accompanied by QFF Norm Kelly as our observer. The Conference was hosted by Auckland Operational Support who did a great job educating and promoting the role of Operational Support.

We take pride in attending and contributing to the conference and it was an excellent opportunity to form relationships with fellow brigades.

NZ FIRE BRIGADES’ LONG SERVICE AND GOOD CONDUCT AWARD The New Zealand Fire brigades’ Long Service and Good Conduct Medal is awarded to operational uniformed members of recognised fire services in New Zealand who have completed 14 years of service and whose conduct is of such good standard to warrant the medal. Clasps to the medal are awarded for each additional seven years of service.

We have two recipients this year: SFF Jane Stevens to receive the

LSGC Medal (14 years)

SO Brian Arons to receive the

Fourth Clasp to the LSGC Medal (42 years)

Congratulations and thank you for your commitment to Fire and Emergency NZ, our brigade and the wider community.

Working at various community events around Wellington

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WELLINGTON VOLUNTEER FIRE SERVICE SUPPORT UNIT

BRIAN ARONS We are coming to the end of an era as we are saying a last ‘Knock-off and Make-up’ to our longest serving member, SO Brian Arons.

Brian has volunteered over 42 years in the service of our community including nine years as our Officer in Charge.

He has been a great inspiration to many, providing a wealth of knowledge and expertise to the brigade. I’d especially like to thank Brian for all the support he has given to me during my transition into the Officer in Charge role.

A sub-committee has been appointed to organise a fitting function in the new year to celebrate Brian’s years of service.

Brian you will be missed as a vital operational member but we look forward to continuing a strong relationship with you and Susan in the years to come.

OUR LIFE MEMBERS We are very fortunate to have Life Members who offer us great wisdom. It is very important to the brigade that this relationship is maintained. SO Brian Arons has been our ‘Life Member Liaison’ an important role which requires regular contact with our Life Members, organising social events, offering help when needed and reporting back to the brigade at each of our meetings. Brian will continue with this role after retiring from the brigade.

REMEMBERING LIFE MEMBER WILLIAM ‘BILL’ MURDOCH 1936-2018 Sadly, during this year, one of our Life Members, Bill Murdoch, passed away. Bill served as a Senior Firefighter and was treasured part of the team.

Our thoughts are with his wife Marie and family.

He will be missed and remembered fondly.

OUR LIFE MEMBERS INCLUDE: Roger Bullock (Patron)

Alan Heppleston

Sandy Lawson J.P.

Brian Roban

Brian Arons

Barry Jones

Ron Lennon

John Wilson

Annette Francis

Barry Lanauze

Chris Raine

119TH ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30TH JUNE 2018

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LES HALL MEMORIAL TROPHY This trophy commemorates the devotion and service provided by the late Les Hall QSM (Captain and Officer in Charge), who served 30 years with our brigade. All current members nominate a fellow member that they feel has performed to a high standard and embodies the dedication and discipline shown by Les Hall QSM. This year’s recipient is QFF Catherine Coe, the second time she has been awarded this trophy.

Catherine has consistently performed above an beyond what has been expected of her for the good of the brigade.

ATTENDANCE TROPHY This coveted cup is awarded to the member who has attended the most incidents during the year and reflects their dedication to our community.

This year’s recipient is SSO Jono Ashman.

A SPECIAL THANKS I have been very fortunate to have had the support of many skilled and passionate people.

I’d like to give a special thanks to: • My Deputy, SO Phil Harris, • SO Brian Arons for staying on these last two years and offering sage advice, • Our Management Committee, SO Phil Harris, QFF Norm Kelly, QFF Catherine Coe and FF Stephen Lambert, • Our VSO, Rachael Leighton, who has always made herself available, and • Region 3 and Area 16 Management, especially RM Bruce Stubbs, AM Dave Key and AAM Michael Dombroski alongside the Business Support team, Coral Savage and Nita Patel.

Thank you,

SSO Jono Ashman OIC Wellington Volunteer Fire Service Support Unit

09

WELLINGTON VOLUNTEER FIRE SERVICE SUPPORT UNIT

119TH ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30TH JUNE 2018

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WELLINGTON VOLUNTEER FIRE SERVICE SUPPORT UNIT

FINANCIAL STATEMENT

Statement of Income and Expenditure for the period 1 July 2017 to 30 June 2018.

INCOME

2017

GENERAL ACCOUNTS (00) EXPENDITURE 2018 2017

2018

$

3,770

$

664 UFBA Service Honours

$

12

$ 10,161 Fire Service Grant

$

9,796

$

926 UFBA Conference

$

883

12 Interest

$

8

$

247 AGM Expenses

$

164

$

781

$

1,966 Social Expenses

$

3,111

$

0

$

$

75

$

363

4,438 Opening balance

$

$

400 Fundraising

$

5,137 Transfer from Social Account (001)

$

181 Provincial and Sub Association Expenses Equipment

$

0 Equipment

$

405 Gifts

$

120

$

539 Unit Administration

$

1,729

$

197

$ 10,000 Transfers to Term Deposit

$

5,000

$

$

561

$

$ 20,148

$ 14,355

0 Fundraising Expenses

0 Transfers to Equipment Account

$

1,450 Executive Expenses

$

0

$

3,770 Closing Balance

$

2,140

$ 20,148

$ 14,355

SOCIAL ACCOUNT (01) INCOME

2017 $ $ $

5,117 Opening Balance 20 Interest 5,137

EXPENDITURE

2017

$

0

$

$

0

$

$

0

$

5,137 Transfer to

General Account (00)

0 Closing Balance 5,137

EQUIPMENT ACCOUNT (03) INCOME EXPENDITURE 2018 2017

2017

07

2018

$

1,527 Opening Balance

$

6,531

$

0 Fundraising

$

1,328

$

4 Interest

$

8

$

5,000 Reimburse unused legal fees

$

0

$

6,531

$

7,867

WELLINGTON VOLUNTEER FIRE SERVICE SUPPORT UNIT

2018 $

0

$

0

$

0

2018

$

6,531 Closing Balance

$

7,867

$

6,531

$

7,867

SPECIAL PURPOSES ACCOUNT (97) INCOME EXPENDITURE 2018 2017

2017 $

292 Opening Balance

$ $

2 Interest 294

$

294

$

0

$

294

2018

$

294 Closing Balance

$

294

$

294

$

294

TERM DEPOSIT (04) INCOME

2017

2018

$ 15,850 Opening Balance

$ 16,404

$

$

554 Interest

$ 16,404

2017

EXPENDITURE

2018

$ 16,404 Closing Balance

$ 16,983

$ 16,404

$ 16,983

579

$ 16,983

TERM DEPOSIT (05) INCOME

2017 $ $ $

5,429 Opening Balance 185 Interest 5,614

2018 $

5,614

$

182

$

5,796

2017

EXPENDITURE

2018

$

5,614 Closing Balance

$

5,796

$

5,614

$

5,796

TERM DEPOSIT (06/07) INCOME

2017 $

0 Opening Balance

2018 $ 10,000

$ 10,000 Transfer from

$

5,000

$

$

367

General Account (00)

0 Interest

$ 10,000

$ 15,367

2017

EXPENDITURE

2018

$ 10,000 Closing Balance

$ 15,367

$ 10,000

$ 15,367

I have examined the Books, Accounts, and Vouchers of the Wellington Operational Support Unit for the 12-month period, 1 July 2017 to 30 July 2018, and in my opinion the statements and payments for the General, Social, Equipment, Special Purposes and three Term Deposits as presented are a true and fair record of the transactions that have taken place during the period.

R C Bullock

Examiner of the books 29 July 2018

119TH ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30TH JUNE 2018

08

119 YEARS SUPPORTING OUR COMMUNITY WHEN THEY NEED IT THE MOST