Easter fundraiser builds new fire station

 

Drivers travelling along Inlet Road were required to slow down over Easter, as firefighters lined the street.

Instead of carrying firefighting equipment however, the volunteers were armed with buckets to accept loose change from passengers in their annual Easter fundraiser.

Officer-in-Charge of Mangawhai fire brigade, Maurice Doughty, said the firefighters were also handing out fun in the form of sweets and balloons to child passengers and fire safety tips to adults.

“We’ve been fundraising along this road for ten years,” says Doughty, who has recently returned from retirement. “I think some drivers think we are a police roadblock though – a few cars up the road turned around instead of heading towards us.”

Donations from this year’s fundraising will go towards firefighting equipment and helping the process of attaining a new fire station.

Doughty says the future plan for a new station will include modern facilities to accommodate other emergency services.

“If there is a natural disaster it will ideally be an assembly point for necessary services such as Civil Defence to gather together and co-ordinate emergency plans and action,” Doughty says.

The Mangawhai Volunteer Fire Brigade would like to thank the locals and visitors in Mangawhai over Easter weekend for their generous contributions.

“It was the best fundraiser we have ever had,” Doughty says. “The money given will go a long way to assisting with the future building project.”

By Julia Wade