Before they can restore it to all its former glory, they first need somewhere to house it!

Te Puke Volunteer Fire Brigade is on a shed-building mission with the ultimate goal of having a place to store and revamp their 1938 Ford V8 Fire Truck.

Construction of the shed started in July but chief fire officer Dale Lindsay says the volunteer group has now run out of money.

“We’ve got 90 per cent of the shed built but we’ve still got a few bits and pieces to go,” says Dale.

“We’ve had about $20,000 to $30,000 more cost than we anticipated, so we’re trying to raise a few more dollars.”

Build expenses

A big cost was the project’s earthworks, says Dale.

“We had to get Geotech Engineers to check all the ground.

We found 1.5m was just rubbish soil. We ended up having to take out 205-odd cubic metres of soil.”

Dale says the excavation itself cost $10,000 – and that’s with the expense curbed due to the mahi (work) of volunteers.

“It probably would’ve been $30,000 if we hadn’t have been able to do it ourselves.”

With the main structure of the shed complete and weather-proofed – only the final pieces of the build puzzle remain.

“It’s the PA [Personnel Access] door, the windows, and the flashings to go on, then the concrete ramps.

"Once that’s done, it’ll be all set to go. If we can get it sorted by Christmas that’ll be cool!”

Dale says the brigade’s mission is to get the 1938 Fire Truck housed and in a nice area in its own shed “so we can start working on that when we need to…once we get more funds raised, we can start looking at options for restoring it and making it pretty again”.

The Te Puke Volunteer Fire Brigade are raising funds to get the last of their shed completed. Photo: John Borren.

Home and asset

The shed won’t only be a home for the iconic Ford, however. It will double as a community asset in the event of emergencies.

“It’s to store fire and emergencies urban search and rescue equipment,” says Dale.

“We’re a strategic location in the event of natural disaster like a tsunami or earthquake because we’re slightly inland.”

Dale says the shed will also be used as an emergency training venue.

“If we wanted to we could make some rooms you could shift around inside for training.

"You can fill the place full of smoke and then have people around the room find dummies and patients for training.”

For now, Dale says: “If we can pick up another $30,000 that would be great – that would allow us to finish it.”

He thanks all the community who have supported the project this far.

Make the Te Puke Volunteer Fire Brigades Christmas wish come true and help them get this community resource over the line!

To donate visit: https://givealittle.co.nz/org/te-puke-volunteer-fire-brigade