Locating a rural property must be easy
Country people have a higher risk of fire than city dwellers.
They may not detect a fire right away, and emergency services could take longer to reach them due to the greater travel distances that may be involved.
Culverden Fire Chief Craig Ritchie on behalf of Fire and Emergency New Zealand (FENZ) said it’s important to understand the fire risks of rural living, and take actions to minimise them.
"Fire gets real, fast. A room can become fully engulfed by fire in less than three minutes," he said.
Locating a rural property must be an easy job for emergency services, and one solution is the Rural Address Property Identification (RAPID) system.
These are the blue plates with white numbers, mounted at the entrances of rural properties throughout the Hurunui District.
Ritchie had worked alongside Hurunui District Council and dedicated an abundance of hours over the past 12 months to make sure rural people have the correct RAPID number at their gate.
To date, Ritchie has put a particular focus on the Amuri Basin and wider Culverden area, its dairy farming hub creating many shared driveways with multiple dwellings which can make location identification challenging.
Nearly 600 RAPID numbers, which are based on the distance to a property entrance from a clearly defined reference point, have been assessed so far in the Amuri Basin, which is around 70% of the Basin’s total.
So far, about 95% of the rural properties checked have needed assistance with the RAPID number.
“We can’t just give someone a number without checking it’s true and correct, therefore following up on the progress is a big part of the job,” said Ritchie.
Council’s planner Scott Rose has been working with Ritchie, and said many external agencies will benefit from the RAPID number system, such as LINZ, MainPower and the Police.
He said many external agencies benefit from the RAPID number system, such as LINZ, MainPower and the Police.
“It’s a good accurate location system for everyone, whether you’re telling a friend where you live, mail is being delivered, you’re updating your medical records, or you have an emergency,” said Rose.
Bill Suckling Iives on Inniskillen Drive, a newly named right-of-way off Isolated Hill Rd on the Amuri Plain.
Up this right of way are 10 dwellings, three dairy sheds across three farms, and 10 RAPID numbers.
Suckling has owned Inniskillen Dairy Limited for 17 years, and saw huge benefit in having this numbering system revised recently.
“We used to all have the same RAPID number, nobody had any idea where they were unless there was the name of the farm.”
It has also made life easier for the traditionally transient farm workers, will benefit from an accurate addressing system so they can let people know where they live, even temporarily.
Ritchie said FENZ also responds to St John ‘purple’ calls, which occur when the incident is immediately life-threatening, and the tell tail signs of danger such as smoke or flames are not always evident.
Rob Field lives in Hurunui and has been involved with St John since 2002, spending 15 years operationally, and is now on the Area Committee.
He has a RAPID number on his own property, and said this system makes the potentially huge task of locating a rural property so much easier. He encouraged all rural property owners in the District to make sure they firstly have one, and that it is easy to see.
“The key issue is multiple dwellings on one accessway, even with the best Google Maps you are still scrubbing around trying to find out which sleepout or house the patient is at,” said Field.
Ritchie said working together as a District is key.
"I believe the collaborative approach is the best approach, there is still a lot of work to be done."
To find out more about RAPID numbers, visit the website, or ring Council and ask to speak to Scott Rose.
Amberley: 03 3148 816.
Cheviot Freephone: 03 319 8812.
Amuri & Hanmer Springs Freephone: 03 315 8400.
