With construction of Katikati's new fire station underway – and the brigade set to move in by Christmas – it is now more than likely the town's fire siren will relocate with them.

Katikati Fire Brigade deputy chief fire officer and building manager Gavin Amrein says the siren will move from its Main Rd site to their new pad on the corner of Wedgewood St and Middlebrook Drive.

Katikati Fire Brigade deputy chief fire officer and building manager Gavin Amrein at the new station, being built on the corner of Wedgewood St and Middlebrook Drive.

'We believe the siren will be going to the new station,” says Gavin.

'We would like to actually get rid of it, but our pagers are not up to standard yet to do away with the siren. Plus, we need the siren there because it is hooked up to the tsunami warning and the town needs that.”

Gavin says the existing siren pole is on the current station's boundary and could be in the way, and need demolishing, when new building users take over.

'So we will be taking the siren down and relocating it – and we will be without a siren for probably a couple of weeks while we fix it to the new building.”

When set up, the siren will likely be turned off at night-time to quell complaints, as currently it sounds for an emergency no matter what time – day or night.

'When it was first decided to move the station there wasn't a lot of houses [at the new site]; now that the station has taken so long to eventuate, there are a lot of houses nearby.”

Gavin says currently, during the night, the siren goes for a couple of minutes – 'but if our pagers get better we'd like to turn it off indefinitely”.

'[But] It's not up to us, it's just our technology is not good enough – and we have people on the outskirts of town who need to hear it.”

As for the new station, Gavin Amrein is happy with its progress, with it set to sport time-saving and eco-friendly features.

'We hope to be in by Christmas – end of December or end of January – that's the dates.”

The station will house two fire trucks and have a locker room, two offices, a social room, and kitchen and toilet facilities for the brigade's 23 members.

'We've a designed locker room to store equipment and clothing, a drying room to hang wet clothing after call-outs, and a designed sink for cleaning breathing gear. Before, we'd use the kitchen.”

Gavin says the offices will satisfy ever-increasing paperwork duties, with the Main Rd site offering nowhere to sit down, so they work out of an old toilet area.

A garage at the new site will house the brigade's ‘white fleet' of a water tanker and van, with a fire hydrant nearby.

The new digs will be a stark contrast to the current station, built by Hilton Rayment in 1955 to house one fire truck and 10 members, which has become cramped and unsuitable in recent years.

'We'll fit it [the new station] with new gear and it'll be alarmed and fitted with a camera security system,” says Gavin.

And despite statistics showing the brigade only takes about two minutes and 45 seconds to get a fire appliance on the road from the siren sounding, the new station will have time-saving tools.

'When the siren sounds all doors will open automatically, the alarm deactivates and lights turn on; this will allow for a faster response,” says Gavin.

The building will also be earthquake-proof and eco-friendly.

'We're retaining our roof water, recycling all of our water, and re-using it for toilet facilities.”

The New Zealand Fire Service is funding the station only, but the brigade is ecstatic about their new station, after fundraising for 13 years to contribute to its cost.