Member of Parliament saves the life of a Motor Vehicle Accident Victim.

As it should be. But bloody well done to Mr Mark and his wife for responding perfectly to the situation and saving the life of the poor guy who would've likely bled to death otherwise.

Kudos.

3 News Reports..

Oooer. Will be watching the news closely ... !!!

[Edit] The news had a little on it but it was pretty much 'breaking news' by 6pm. This morning however, More Detail has come to light including the names of those killed and the location of the crash, as well as the type of aircraft. Both people who died were former RNZAF officers who were members of the Whenuapai Aviation Sports Club and were killed in their privately constructed (but very safe) Thorpe "S-18" 2-seater.

I've done a bit of searching online this morning and it appears - with thanks to Wikipedia - that the S-18 is a modified version of the T-18.

A tragic event, for sure.

Or at least, suddenly, the general public seem to be acknowledging the importance of their (largely volunteer) servants.

New Zealand Herald article on the Clevedon brigade is one example.

I've seen others. Good to see Firefighters getting some public recognition - but why'd it take a death on the job?

Stuff and The New Zealand Herald both have live stories running about the massive explosion last night at the Icepak Cold Stores in Tamahere, a Hamilton suburb.
Neither however had, when I looked this morning, the same detail as News.com.au which reported a fatality amongst the Firefighters who were injured in the horrendous explosion that hit as they kicked down the door.

However, the New Zealand Fire Service confirms that Senior Station Officer Derek Lovell has died as a result of injuries sustained at the incident.

My profuse condolances to family and friends of SSO Lovell. This is the first fatality within the NZFS that i've seen in quite some time, and by all accounts this incident is huge. Resources from All across Bay-Waikato district, plus Auckland, have responded. (Understand that Auckland Fire Police are there with AUCKFPOL5/6/8 also...)

A tragedy and one definately worth noting for posterity.

Both of the above websites have decent image galleries, some of the photos are just startling. I recommend a look.

One way to ensure that the Police and the Fire Department never speak to eachother again?.

Crazy Australians. That to me was an only-in-America candidate...

Stuff.co.nz has an awesome aerial photo..

This is reportedly a 6th Alarm - I didn't know the scale (officially) went that high in NZ. Don't think i've ever seen anything bigger than a 5th, even with long endurance requirements....

Wikipedia notes that the Kinleith Mill produces several hundred thousand tonnes of paper per year. This will be making life awkward for them i'm sure!

Fire Appliances from across the Bay-Waikato District are in attendance... reported to include:

Kinleth 621
Tokoroa 871, 872, 8729, 877
VSO South Waikato
Putaruru 861, 867
Rotorua 2, 8116, 8126, 811, 814, 812, 817
Bay Western 3
Tirau 857
Matamata 381
Taupo 1, Fire Safety 1, 217
South Waikato Rural Fire Officer 1
National Training Centre 1
Hamilton 4116, 415, 4112, 411
Greerton 751
NorthCom 1
VSO Waikato
Bay Workshops 3
Cambridge 441
Morrinsville 361
Pukete 431

When reading those callsigns...
3 and 4 digit callsigns are read as first two digits = station ID, second one or two digits = appliance type. The core types represented in the above list are:
1=pump #1, 2=pump #2, 3=pump #2, 4=Aerial Monitor, 5=Aerial Platform, 6=TTL, 7=Pump with Rescue Capability, 12=Hoselayer, 16=HAZMAT Response Appliance, 26=Fire Police or Operational Support, 29=Van or Support Vehicle.

If you check out Smaps showing Tokoroa, and then zoom out about 4 or 5 steps, it starts showing you the scale of this response. Greerton (a suburb of Tauranga) have a fair drive to get to the scene!

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=107&objectid=10486876I'm glad he's pleading guilty!

Inattention behind the wheel (associated with a cellphone yet again) and made even worse through the influence of Alcohol. Suprise Suprise.

More fuel for the fire I guess :(

Update. Stuff have an article on this one - "Grieving Family wants cellphone ban". Suprise suprise.

Theres also some Reader Feedback being taken on the subject.

I wish to draw peoples attention to this section of the article, though:

He wants a ban on using cellphones while driving but is sceptical about whether one will ever be introduced.

"Once the boy is sentenced, then that is basically the end of the accident, but not the grieving. I just hope and pray that something positive can come out of it."

Mr Duynhoven said texting when driving was "one of the dumbest things you can do", but cellphone use was a factor in only a small percentage of crashes. Reading newspapers, applying makeup and eating food were also problem areas.

"Should we then have the power to say you shouldn't change CDs or a tape because that's even more distracting than using a cellphone? It's the issue of distraction rather than the particular implement you're using."

I hope people don't knee-jerk over this - theres plenty of ways to distract a driver, cellphones are just one of them. The fault goes back to the driver who lets his attention be swayed from his driving duties (regardless of the cause.)

Who calls the cops because their stolen car is illegally clamped?

So reports CNN.. Canadian firetruck responding to a request for assistance from its US border state is held up by border security agents.

Despite the fact they've been responding to calls for assistance, for years... !

... and not for a good reason.
The recent drowning at Papakura Pools was at a private function booked out by a woman that I remember from my childhood in Manurewa.
Article.
Very sad stuff.