Fighting Fires
Words: Amelia Norman
Images: Supplied
The day Essence interviewed volunteer firefighter Assina Dalglish of Swannanoa, a forestry fire was raging on the other side of the Waimakariri River, in Kirwee. It would eventually wipe out 80ha of forest, scrub and farmland but the efforts of the firefighters in attendance would thankfully mean that no homes or lives were lost in the blaze.
Whilst Assina wasn’t on call for the Kirwee fire, she knows first-hand the devastation that fires like this one can wreak. As a member of the Swannanoa Volunteer Fire Brigade, the 26-year-old has attended her fair share of significant call outs in the past three years, including the Loburn and Swannanoa fires in January as well as car accidents, natural disasters and medical events.
“It’s hard at times but it’s all part of the job,” says Assina, with her trademark pragmatism. “You do some really late nights and weekends. It’s hot, it’s hard going, but I always think no matter what you’re turning up to, it’s probably somebody’s worst day. The worst day of their life. By turning up and doing something – anything – to help, we can only make that day a little better.”
It’s this focus on helping people that drove Assina to apply for the brigade back in 2021. “I’ve always enjoyed helping people out. As a kid I was a St. John cadet, and I grew up wanting to join the army. Having my son changed that, so firefighting became my way of helping people and serving the community.”
With a waitlist in place, joining the Swannanoa Volunteer Fire Brigade isn’t a walk in the park. After a Q&A with the senior officers, Assina had to undergo a six-month probation and training period, followed by the toughest part of the selection process: “At the end of your probation the crew take a vote to see who wants you on board. It sounds harsh, but it’s such a team-oriented thing so it’s really important that you all gel well.”
Luckily, Assina got the nod and jumped straight in to attending weekly training evenings and regular call outs which can involve anything from driving huge fire appliances to being on the hoses, stabilising vehicles involved in accidents or attending to patients in a medical emergency.
Unsurprisingly, when you’re going through all of that with a band of 26 other volunteers, you become close, fast.
“Before I joined the brigade I didn’t really know anyone in the area. As soon as I joined it was like I had a second family,” says Assina. “I even met my partner Ben here. It’s such a great community of people and they’re always there to help. That’s probably what I love the most about it.”
Although she’s parenting her young son, studying full time, working seasonally and volunteering with the brigade, 26-year-old Assina somehow also manages to train for and enter competitive events with other firefighters like the Auckland Skytower Challenge and the United Fire Brigades’ Association Firefighting Challenge - a gruelling physical event that has been dubbed “the toughest two minutes in sport”.
Whilst the thought of that competition alone would frighten the best of us, Assina says she isn’t phased by the competition or by the life-threatening emergencies she faces on a regular basis. “I don’t really get scared and I think that’s because we have a lot of training behind us. I feel very competent at what I do, and I know that I have all these safety protocols behind me so I’m always very focused on the job at hand. You have processes to work through, so you just work through it and do the job.”
Fire Safety Sidebar
What Can Rural Families Do to Help Safeguard Against Vegetation Fires?
1. Visit checkitsalright.nz. This is a super handy tool that tells you if it’s safe to light a fire at your place, or not, such as during a total fire ban as we have seen this summer. It also has a lot of information on fire safety that families can use.
2. Make sure your driveway has adequate space for a fire appliance. This means a space of 4m wide by 4m under trees and growth surrounding driveways. If we can’t get our vehicle in, or can’t open the doors once we’re there, this can delay access to your emergency, which could be life threatening.
3. Consider what you plant around your home. Although it sounds small, having green spaces around your house and plants that are good fire breaks can make all the difference by slowing an approaching fire and allowing crews valuable time to get to it. We saw this a lot at the Loburn fires. There is good information about low flammability plants on checkitsalright.nz under ‘Reduce your Risk’.