Q: How quickly can you be on station for a callout?
A: The first firefighter can be on station within 60 seconds, as they live very close.

Q: How fast can you be on the way to an emergency?
A: The first appliance is on the road within 3-4 minutes or less. A lot of our firefighters live quite close to the station, which is a major advantage. We are set a target by Fire and Emergency New Zealand for fast response within 5 minutes, so we well and truly beat that target.

Q: How fast can you get changed into your fire gear?
A: We can be changed in 30 seconds or less - whichever type of gear we need to put on (see question below). After a bit of practice, we learn quick ways of getting the gear on! Every firefighter has their method....whatever works fastest!

Q: How many types of uniform/gear do you have?
A: Several. We have uniforms for training nights, formal meetings/events and of course, calls. We have “Level 1” gear for motor vehicle crashes and medicals, “Level 2” gear for structural fires, and “Level 3” gear for chemical spills. We also use overalls for vegetation fires, and waterproof gear for flooding / bad weather calls. There's a fair bit of gear!

Q: When the siren sounds, do the number of up/down tones mean a different emergency, eg: 3 times means vehicle crash, 4 times means fire, 5 times means medical, etc?
A: No, the siren will sound as long as it does until it is shut off. The number of up/down tones doesn't reflect the type of emergency at all.

Q: Then, how do you know what the emergency is?
A: We have messages sent to our pagers and cell phones detailing what appliances are required, what the call is, and most importantly, the location!

Q: What do you respond to?
A: Structural fires, Medicals, Motor Vehicle Crashes, Rescues, Private Fire Alarms, Vegetation Fires, Hazardous Chemical Spills, Gas Leaks, Natural disasters, cats up trees, ducklings down drains and more...

Q: If I'm having a burnoff, what should I do so you don't get called?
A: Visit CheckItsAlright.nz to check the current season status. Then call our Communications Centre on 0800 FENZCALL (0800336922) and tell them you're having it so they can log it against the address - that way, if anyone calls 111, we can see it's a controlled burn. HOWEVER, you must use due diligence and monitor the burn always, because if the 111 caller gives any indication it looks out of control, we're coming to investigate it.

Q: How many sirens are in Lincoln?
A: One, based at the station. (Click to see it in action)

Q: Why do you have a siren?
A: The siren is a reliable source of alert system. There are two answers to this:
1. Unfortunately, we can’t always rely on cell phones and pagers, and quite frequently some firefighters don’t get a message at all depending on telco network quality. (Lincoln is terrible for cellphone reception, so it does affect some of us!)
2. Volunteer firefighters are generally at home or work when a callout comes, not always ready to go/on station like Ambulance and Police can be. Sometimes a firefighter might also be in an environment where they don’t hear a message come through, but where a siren can be better heard.

Q: Is the siren 24/7?
A: No. It runs from 7am-9pm daily. We see this as a good compromise for the community's sleep! We do rely on pagers and cellphones between those times, but in relation to the previous answer, we hope they work when they're needed! See our article addressing this.

Q: What happens when the siren goes?
A: We drop what we're doing and get to station ASAP! Here's a video we made that shows a 'turnout' - seen by over 100,000!

Q: Can anyone just drive the trucks?
A: If you have a class 2 licence, yes, but you cannot drive them under lights and sirens until you pass an Emergency Response Driver's course AND be a qualified pump operator too, as it's the driver's job to run the pump at an emergency where we require water. We also have a tanker that requires a class 4 licence. (See our trucks here)

Q: How many people can go on a truck at once?
A: A maximum of 6. An officer and a qualified driver/pump operator in the front, four in the back and at least two of those firefighters need breathing apparatus qualifications. We can take a minimum crew of 4, as long as two of them are qualified to wear breathing apparatus. If we're going to a motor vehicle crash, preferably we'd need a crew trained in crash rescue.
- For our tanker, a crew of 2 required > driver must have Class 4 licence and both firefighters can use the pump.

Q: What type of incidents do you go to the most?
A: On average, private fire alarms (PFAs) are up there, followed by Motor Vehicle Crashes, then structure fires and medicals. Summer is quite busy with vegetation fires.

Q: Why do you get called to medicals?
A: We get called to 'Purples': Cardiac/Respiratory Arrests and sometimes 'RED 1 or 2': Burns/Explosions as a quicker local response as it possibly involves fire - we are trained in medical co-response. If St John require us, their dispatchers will alert fire dispatch who will send us if it meets the right criteria for a co-response (we do higher level first aid training for this). We have a Memorandum of Understanding with St John.

Q: Can you fine people?
A: We don't hand out fines, as we're not the Police. (How'd you guess?) We want people to call us immediately when there's a problem without the fear of getting a fine. However, we can elevate concerning calls to another level of authority. You can find details about repercussions for reckless disregard under the Fire and Emergency New Zealand Act 2017 here. Happy reading....

Q: Are there rosters?
A: Sort of....we have 'watches'. Red, Blue and Green watch. Each watch gets allocated to a different appliance (truck) on a weekly rotation. Each watch has a mix of differently ranked Firefighters and an Officer In Charge (OIC). Oh, and there's Black watch, they comprise of the Chief, Deputy Chief and our two Senior Station Officers. (They will jump on at any time, but generally they have the cleanest uniforms.)

Q: What if no one turns up to a callout?
A: Really, seriously, massively unlikely, but if our communications centre dispatchers see we're not responding within the standard 5 minute target, they'll try to contact us to see if anyone is on station, sound the siren again or, failing that, attach a neighbouring brigade. We have a very slick comms system within Fire and Emergency NZ who will do everything they can to make sure someone turns up!

Q: The ‘Jaws of Life’ must be interesting to use?
A: They’re an amazing piece of equipment to use; they save lives and get people out of difficult situations. They're heavy! 'Jaws of life' is a neat name, but we officially and simply call them ‘cutters’. You can call them what you like, as long as they do what they're meant to!

Q: Would you use salt water if putting a fire out near the sea? (question from an 8 year old)
A: Sea/Salt water is a very last resort, but yes, we would if we were desperate. The salt water could potentially cause a fair bit of damage to our equipment, so we'd be more likely to use a hydrant - but if hydrants are not available, we'll use water from our trucks and tanker. If more resource is needed, we'll call in pumps and tankers from neighbouring brigades. If salt water does get used, we'd flush the pumps out thoroughly with fresh water when we get back to station after the call.

Q: What can I do with an expired, or useless fire extinguisher?
A: Bring it to us at the station. Put it next to the bins under the siren tower and we'll deal with it. Drop us a message to let us know you've done it.

Q: Can you give advice on smoke alarm placement, and general home fire safety info?
A: Yep! In a nutshell, you need to have smoke alarms in every bedroom, hallway and living space, but please book a Home Fire Safety Visit here.

Q: There are a number of houses now with electric gates installed. How do you access a house fire if the electric gates are closed and there’s no one available to open them?
A: If we're in a situation where there is no one to let us in, we will force entry only if absolutely necessary. It doesn't happen often, but there are several ways we can get access sorted in an emergency.

Q: Why does the siren sometimes go off more than once in a short time frame?
A: Several factors:
- Not enough crew have turned up on the original call, so dispatchers have reactivated it again, or;
- A likelihood that the officer on the lead appliance has called for another resource/appliance to assist, or;
- There's a new emergency while one appliance is already out and there's one available on station.

Q: How do the brigade ranks work?
A: In order: Recruit (RFF), Firefighter (FF), Qualified Firefighter (QFF), Senior Firefighter (SFF), Station Officer (SO), Senior Station Officer (SSO), Deputy Chief (DCFO), and Chief (CFO). We also have Operational Support (OS) members, who can help us on calls with traffic control / general well-being of the firefighters etc. Have a look at the rank structure here.

Q: How do you move up the ranks?
A: With constant learning. You are given amazing training on station weekly and are also sent on courses to a very sophisticated facility to officially train and qualify you to move up. It takes time, but there’s no rush!! 'Hurry slowly', as we say.

Q: Do you have to be fit?
A: It's a bonus if you are. You do have to pass a medical check to join, and there are annual medical checks to help keep you on track. Our firefighters will also do what they can in their spare time to stay fit, like bicep curls with a cup of coffee and a piece of cake.

Q: How can I join?
A: The brigade is full currently, and there is a waiting list - but don't let that put you off getting on our radar! We recommend you head to our JOIN page and fill out the membership enquiry form.