Monday 25 February
Emergency management moves to the Coast
Managers at Tai Poutini Polytechnic are impressed at the high calibre of local search and rescue experts they have found
after relocating the Emergency Management department to Greymouth.
Formally based in Palmerston North the Emergency Management department began operating from Greymouth with five staff in
February. Head of Department Dave Ritchie says while one staff member has come from Hamilton the rest were recruited on
the West Coast.
“It was amazing what kind of emergency management skills we were able to find on the West Coast. Between Westport and
Hokitika we located some highly experienced search and rescue managers, including nationally recognised whitewater and
technical rope rescue experts. Staff have experience in disasters including the Christchurch earthquakes, San Francisco
earthquake, Australia’s Black Sunday bushfires and the Pike River Mine Disaster,” he says.
TPP is the Government’s preferred training provider for Search and Rescue and Emergency Management training and delivers
its programmes throughout New Zealand. The polytechnic expects to train around 900 students annually, most of those
taking part in short award training, although TPP also offers a level 6 Diploma in Applied Emergency Management.
TPP’s Emergency Management Team Leader Keith Morfett says as well as continuing to deliver its core training the new
team is currently re-vamping its programmes to reflect lessons learnt from recent events like the Japanese tsunami and
Canterbury earthquakes.
“Post the Christchurch earthquake there is a lot of opportunity to improve on how we cope with a disaster. Inquiries
found Christchurch did not have a co-ordinated multi-agency approach so we are putting an emphasis on quality
multi-agency training,” he says.
TPP is also keen to see much more flexibility in how it delivers its programmes and will continue to provide training
for all Search and Rescue volunteers. This training is funded by the Government with students nominated by NZSAR and
other Search and Rescue organisations.
ENDS