Those were the days: Porirua volunteer firefighter Alamaine Thomas with the old Porirua fire truck, commissioned in 1966
Porirua Volunteer Fire Brigade is going back to the future.
The station has bought an old fire engine, which was stationed at Porirua almost 50 years ago.
Station officer Margaret Smith said a friend found the truck rotting in a field in Hamilton more than a year ago.
“He was going to buy it, and when I found out it was the Porirua truck, I said, ‘Hang on, can we buy it instead?’
“The brigade voted on it, and decided to give it a go. There’s some of them – they wouldn’t like to admit it, but they’ve been around long enough that they actually drove it when it was new. So there’s some history there that they can help us out with, and they already have on a couple of things.”
Miss Smith said the station planned to use the truck for community events such as school fairs, Creekfest and Porirua’s Festival of the Elements.
“We want to make it a part of the community – everyone will know that that’s Porirua’s truck and it belongs to Porirua.”
She estimated about $20,000 would be needed to get the truck useable, and hoped the public would help by donating funds or expertise.
“It needs a new fuel pump and a new fuel tank, which we’re working on at the moment, and once it can run on its own, we’re going to be taking it up to get some structural work fixed.
“The volunteers have sort of taken on the task of trying to get this truck up and running. To have the community backing as well would be absolutely phenomenal.”
To donate time or funds, go to poriruafire.nz or the Porirua Fire Brigade Facebook page.
Talia Carlisle Fairfax NZ – Kapi Mana News
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