Principal Rural Fire Officer Appointed For New Fire Authority

Rachael Thorp has been appointed Principal Rural Fire Officer for the new Wellington Rural Fire Authority which will come into force in October.

Rachael starts her role on Monday 29 July, and will be based at Porirua City Council’s Emergency Management Office until she takes up her new role with the Wellington Rural Fire Authority when it is formally established on 1 October 2013.

“At present each Council in the Wellington Region is a rural fire authority in its own right,” says Council Chief Executive Gary Simpson who is Chair of the Rural Fire Transition Committee.

“Rachael brings lots of experience to the role having served as Deputy Principal Rural Fire Officer at the Department of Conservation and before that at Wellington City Council. She has also been Officer in Charge of Upper Hutt Volunteer Fire Brigade,” Mr Simpson says.

“More recently Rachael held the post of Technical Support Officer Fire & Boat Manager at DOC and Transitional Manager for the establishment of the new Wellington Rural Fire Authority.”

The Wellington Rural Fire Authority will cover Upper Hutt, Hutt, Wellington, Porirua, and Kapiti Coast, including private forests and Greater Wellington Regional Council and Department of Conservation lands in these areas.

The aims behind creating the Wellington Rural Fire Authority are to:

• Clarify accountabilities and responsibilities and improve the effectiveness and efficiency of rural fire management by reducing duplication and improving the use of existing resources.

• Improve the capability and capacity of the rural fire authorities by pooling and sharing resources and expertise.

• Increase the safety of the rural communities by providing better leadership and advice to the land owners and the public, and creating a greater awareness of fire threats and risks to the region.

• Improve the ability of the fire authorities to comply with statutory obligations and meet the performance standards of the New Zealand Fire Commission, in its role as the National Rural Fire Authority.

• Enhance the integration of fire management principles, policies, plans and practices for fire management and administration across different land uses and owners of rural landscape.

Around the country, nine enlarged rural fire districts have already been established; West Coast, South Canterbury, Southern, Wairarapa, Waimea, Northern, Malborough-Kaikoura and Auckland and Taranaki.

ENDS

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