New PRFO wagon

Well the replacement vehicle for Ross Fothergill is just about operational. Ross is the Principal Rural Fire Officer for Manawatu and Rangitikei Districts and is employed by Horizons Regional Council to undertake this work. The vehicle is a Nissan Navara double cab and has been equipped with fire radio, regional council radio, CDEM radio, cellphone, GPS navigation, 240V inverter, slim light bar, and work lights and a 12V supply in the canopy. A cargo tray is yet to be fitted but its on the way. This will hold the equipment required to initiate a response and provide a work platform for incident control.

The canopy/cargo area is being set up to enable the use of the mobile office in the field. The wireless networked laptops and printer will all be able to operate from the vehicle. The use of the vehicle as the Incident Control Point is the primary driver for this configuration.

We haven't gone for the whole lights and sirens approach as we believe this is a management vehicle. The light bar is a health and safety consideration for incidents on the road. Over the coming months and years the staff of the Emergency Management Office will be increasing their skills to provide support to the PRFO.