About Us

In the 1980s and 1990s, the New Zealand Fire Service provided a number of training courses for industry. In the late 1990s, they ceased this practice, as their strategy moved away from any competition with other training providers.

One course the Timaru Fire Brigade had delivered for many years was the “D” endorsement or Dangerous Goods Licence for drivers transporting chemicals. All truck and courier drivers require this licence which needs to be renewed every five years. One fireman, Gordon Ireland, had always delivered this course. In 1998, when the Fire Service stopped outside training, he felt there was a need in the community for drivers to gain this licence endorsement. There were no other South Canterbury providers so he established his own company to offer the service. Fire & Safety Training (F&ST) offered Dangerous Goods courses on a monthly basis, initially in a training room leased from the Fire Service.

Over the next few years, there was a clear need emerging in South Canterbury for further industrial compliance training: F&ST was well positioned with the knowledge, equipment and personnel to deliver this training. The business moved from Gordon’s garage at home to dedicated premises at Washdyke. This area has been developed to include two well furbished offices, a training room, a large garage to store some of the vehicle fleet, and a workshop for testing breathing apparatus and filling cylinders and extinguishers. There is a large purpose built training ground nearby with a 4WD track, a classroom and a two storey building for fire fighting and height training.

F&ST Today

Today, F&ST has grown further, offering courses in the many subject areas, including: Emergency Response Training, Handling Chemicals, Dangerous Goods, Confined Space, Height Training, Fire Extinguishers and Fire Wardens, Breathing Apparatus, 4 Wheel Drive Training and 4WD Driving in Snow & Ice.

All courses are NZQA based, and F&ST works with several Industry Training Organisations (ITOs) to deliver many courses.

Most courses F&ST delivers are linked to a related practical service. For example the Dangerous Good License training for drivers is backed up with support for driving companies with DG transportation advice. A purpose built fire extinguisher trailer has been used to train hundreds of people and this training is supported by sales and servicing of extinguishers. Confined space training is supported with the hire of rescue tripods and gas detectors and height safety training is linked with practical work.  F&ST staff test Breathing Apparatus (BA), fill air cylinders and service and fill fire extinguishers.

F&ST Staff

Ten staff work alongside Gordon.  Some of the staff are part time, and the majority have extensive emergency service backgrounds which enhances their credibility. There is no formal structure: work is allocated according to who is available and what is required.  No two days are the same and most trainers can deliver training in several subject areas.  All are involved with maintaining equipment.

The Diving Development

In 2008, Gordon recognised an opportunity to develop a commercial diving division of F&ST. He had identified a local need, working with fishing companies and Prime Port, and knew an experienced diver who was looking for employment. Diving is a dangerous activity and F&ST decided they would take time and ensure everything was set up correctly.

Two further staff, both experienced divers, undertook a month long training course in Australia to gain their commercial diving certification. Appropriate diving equipment was sourced and purchased. This included an underwater camera for surveying the underside of vessels, and a Transit Van with a video and communication centre set up in the back. Procedures were agreed and a diving safety manual developed outlining exact responses to predictable situations, along with extensive risk management procedures. Staff required documented medical checks (an annual requirement). Approval from the Department of Labour was sought and gained. Indemnity and shipwright insurance was negotiated and purchased.

Late 2009, a few days before the deadline they gave themselves to be ready, Gordon received a phone call with an urgent job required before a vessel could sail later that day. Two of the three divers were out of town and the van was in pieces in a local workshop. While the men converged and a mechanic urgently assembled the speedily repaired van, Gordon was on the phone ensuring all insurances were comprehensive and current, and every facet of the process was compliant with rigid Department of Labour and Health and Safety requirements. Within two hours, they were in the water, and later that day, the after the ship sailed, and the F&ST diving team celebrated their first job.