Burglars' actions disgust fire brigade

Ruapehu Bulletin, Volume 11, Issue 515, 7 December 1993, Page 1

Burglars' actions disgust fire brigade

Raetihi Volunteer Fire Brigade want to congratulate the "sleezeballs" who burgled the Raetihi Fire Station last weekend. Chief Fire Officer David Griffin 'commended' them for their complete stupidity, selfishness and lack of community spirit. "They stole all our torches, batteries and messed up the station," he said. "Not only did they vandalise windows and doors in the station, they also placed the community at risk. Especially so as they turned on all the airbottles for our breathing apparatus and removed all faucets from the fire engines. This could have resulted in the loss of life either for victim or firefighter." The fire brigade is an emergency service, is trained and geared up to operate in saving either life or property, at a moment's notice. "However," said Chief Griffin, "these yobbos who

robbed us of some of our equipment and interferred with vital materials could have placed someone's life in jeopardy. We were extremely lucky not to have had an emergency call out and face this terrible situation." The burglary was discovered by volunteer per-

sonnel who were attending their regular practice on Thursday nights. Police from Ohakune were called to investigate and are proceeding along lines of enquiry. In amongst items missing, Fire Safety Officer John Compton reported that batteries especially used for

pagers worn by volunteer personnel were also missing. As evident on Thursday' s practice night, no one was able to repower their personal pagers which this too could contribute to tragedy. The local fire service in Raetihi is run on a voluntary basis by people pre-

pared to give of their time and energy in assisting the local community. When actions such as this burglary occurs it is both dangerous and disheartening, he said. Mr Compton asks those who are "in the know" to return the missing property to help restore some faith in the community.