Wairoa fire-fighters knew their own houses were at risk as they went out to help others during the June flooding. Photo: RNZ / Calvin Samuel
Stories are emerging of selfless heroism from members of Wairoa's fire brigade when the town flooded in June.
Wairoa fire-fighter Tyler Trafford-Misson immediately sprang into action when his phone started pinging at 5am on 26 June.
The town was flooding and he remembers knocking on about 20 doors, warning people to evacuate their homes.
One of these people included a bed-bound koro who had to be rescued with a front loader from a roading company.
"A couple of other aspirees and our local policeman moved him out of the house, he was bed bound so he couldn't be put in a wheel chair or anything like that but we took him out the front door, we put a whole lot of cushions and pillows and blankets in the loader bin just to make it a little bit comfortable for him, we picked his mattress up and we put him in the loader," Trafford-Misson said.
While Trafford-Misson was busy rescuing others, he was acutely aware that his own home could be flooded.
"Crossing my fingers when I was passing my property that it wouldn't go in the house but it did because I had almost finished renovating my house that I had spent the last 18 months doing and it was very close to being finished. Yeah, now I've got to start again. You can replace all your things but you can't replace people's lives, right?" Trafford-Misson said.
His home was one of 120 that were yellow-stickered - meaning it can not be lived in until it is repaired
Another belonged to his neighbour, chief fire officer Luke Knight who was also rescuing people during the flood.
Knight said it was not until he drove past his McLean Street home, while driving others to safety, that he realised his would be next to go.
"I think about six o'clock we'd gone to rescue a couple of people that tried to drive out and the vehicle had become flooded and stuck, so we had to pick them up, we drove them down Apatu Street. Our houses, you could see the water, it was basically lapping at the front door. So yeah, that's when we found out our houses were about to be flooded as well," Knight said.
About five fire-fighters lost their homes in the floods which has been heavily blamed on the Hawke's Bay Regional Council.
The council can not comment because the matter is under legal proceedings, but previously admitted less flooding would have happened if the river bar was opened sooner.
Knight said peoples lives were a greater priority than the contents of his home, and for that those who he saved were filled with gratitude.
"The people that were in the car, that were submerged, they sat in the car and the water was up to the steering wheel and over their laps so they were very grateful to get out of that cold water, get into the fire truck and into somewhere warm at the hall. So they were very pleased that we were able to help them out," Knight said.
Mayor Craig Little praised the pair as heroes for their selfless acts of getting others to safety while they were losing everything themselves.
"They both went to help, their homes they knew were absolutely munted and they carried on helping people, getting them to safety... so many people like that just got on with it and helped people and forgot about what they were losing themselves," Little said.
