News Story
Thousands, many in family groups, thronged the Cloud and Shed 10 on the waterfront for this year's "Staying Alive" where Auckland's emergency services were on display. The usual 3... Police, Fire and Ambulance ...were joined by the likes of Civil Defence, Water Safety, Defence, Coastguard and the Westpac Helicopter to show off the city's emergency and rescue resources.
Our members, joined by colleagues from Silverdale, assisted during the day with traffic management on busy Quay Street, scene safety during live demonstrations and, from the mobile Canteen, catered for officials and helpers. Firefighters from City Station showed rescue techniques when, several times during the day, they extricated "victims" from a mock car crash. St John personnel assisted the "patient" throughout the process, replicating what typically occurs at these types of emergencies. Aerial appliances gave a combined display of fire-fighting power with jets of water thrust skywards. But perhaps the star of the show was an appliance seldom seen in public, a monster Rosenbauer Panther tender, recently added to the Auckland Airport Emergency Service's fleet. Named "Waihoku", worth more than $1m, its size meant it had to have a police escort while travelling to and from the Open Day. It too, impressed the crowds when it shot jets of water twice as high as the nearby Shed 10.
