The rural South Canterbury community of Ōmārama will now receive priority assistance from their First Response Unit after a push to ensure St John and Fire and Emergency New Zealand will deploy them.
The town relies on the fire brigade's First Response Unit for faster medical care in an emergency, but St John has been failing to send them in some situations, 1News reported previously.
There's no ambulance in Ōmārama. Residents rely on teams 30km away in Tekapo, 50km away in Kurow or even further afield in Oamaru, a 120km drive.
There's an understanding between St John and Fire and Emergency NZ that St John can deploy FENZ specially-trained units for the most serious calls.
But unit members felt they were being sidelined.
"Basically, we've got highly trained individuals that are here to be used and they're not being used" said Ōmārama First Response trustee Craig Dawson.
READ MORE: Concern grows for lack of timely medical help in rural NZ towns
Following a community meeting last month, representatives of both organisations wrote to the Residents’ Association to outline steps taken in recognition of local concerns.
The letter, from St John District Operations Manager Pauline Buchanan and Fire and Emergency NZ Acting Specialist Response Manager Cam Grylls, acknowledged the strong community support for the Ōmārama Volunteer Fire Brigade.
“We have taken several actions effective immediately to deliver on our commitment that the enhanced first response trial will continue with support from both our organisations,” the letter said.
St John has taken steps to make sure its dispatchers understand the different criteria applying to calls in the Ōmārama brigade’s area. The fire communications centre staff have also been briefed on what to expect when St John requests that the Ōmārama First Response unit is dispatched.
The enhanced First Response trial is underway and will be reviewed in November.
SHARE ME