Rent, Buy or Own
Fire fighting for her community
- Tina Cattle making a difference in her community as a volunteer fire fighter. Photo courtesy of The Marlborough Express.
Tina is the customer coordinator at the Blenheim Neighbourhood Unit and joined the brigade in December last year.
"I wanted to give something back to my community and this looked like a good thing to do. I'm not tied up in sports so I've got the spare time."
Fitness is important though and Tina goes to a gym most nights to build strength and stamina.
In June, Tina went to Nelson for basic training - until then she had been a 'proby' or probationary fire fighter.
"The training was pretty full-on but I enjoyed it and I'm thrilled to have passed. Now I've swapped my red 'proby' hat (see photo) for fire fighter yellow."
There are about 35 volunteers in the Blenheim Volunteer Fire Brigade and Tina is one of only three female fire fighters.
If her pager goes off for a call out, she shuts down her work computer and she's out the door and off to the station as fast as she can - the first fire fighters there get on the fire truck.
"My co-workers Bernie and Frank are really supportive and cover for me if I'm called out. Housing New Zealand is great too because they keep paying me while I'm doing this community service."
Tina's husband and two children are really proud of her. Three-year-old Ryan thinks it's 'pretty cool' that his mum's a fire fighter.
Tina's training has shown her how quickly a fire can take hold. "I've seen the effects of fire first-hand and it's pretty devastating. For your safety, it's really important to have smoke detectors in your home and it's great that they are installed in all Housing New Zealand homes. They don't prevent fires but they do help detect them early."
Check smoke detectors regularly. If you're concerned that your smoke detector isn't working, contact with your tenancy manager or call Housing New Zealand on 0800 801 601.
If you are interested in becoming a volunteer fire fighter, you can get more information about it and lots of fire prevention advice on the New Zealand Fire Service website.
