The brigade’s station opened in 2016 after relocating from the old Macpack shop, and it was built with resilience in mind, including space for a large generator trailer that could power the station and charge trucks. The station has a kitchen, equipment, food, and bottled water support for about two weeks of brigade operations; that self-sufficiency plan is aimed at sustaining brigade activity rather than serving as a wider community support hub, although the station could potentially become an emergency-services command hub during a major event. Water was still noted as a possible constraint.

The brigade reported 207 calls from January 1 through the meeting date, including 10 vegetation events, 43 miscellaneous fire calls, 4 weather-related events, 18 medicals, 50 MDAs, and 45 alarm activations, though the transcript did not fully clarify the MDA category or reconcile every count. Vehicle crashes requiring attendance occur about two or three times a month, and extrication equipment is needed about once every two months. The brigade covers a broad area, including the Crown Range, Lindis Pass saddle, Cromwell, Queensberry, and nearby locations, and it provides crash-rescue cutting gear to surrounding rural brigades. Fire, police, and search and rescue are nearby, but ambulance service is not based at the site.

The brigade has 30 operational members, all volunteers, organized into four duty crews. Each crew includes at least one driver, two breathing-apparatus wearers, and an officer, with crews rotating one week on and three weeks off; members may also respond outside their assigned duty week. A minimum turnout is four people, and volunteers are alerted by paging and a siren. Medical calls are increasingly common, the brigade may arrive before St John’s when ambulance crews are transporting patients to Dunstan, and a regional helicopter can sometimes arrive within about five minutes.

Many thanks  to Luke and Phil from the Wanaka Fire Station for hosting us.