Arrowtown’s volunteer fire brigade’s closing in on its mammoth $150,000 fundraising goal.
Chief fire officer Murray Forward says the fireys still need to raise about $20,000 to buy a new emergency response vehicle, including some replacement medical equipment.
To help them get there, they’re working with New Zealand Sotheby’s International Realty on ‘The Great Arrowtown Garage Sale’, happening
on Sunday, March 12.
There are up to 20 spots available for garage sales — registrations to host one, either individually, or in combination with neighbours at one property on a street, close this Sunday.
All garage sale locations will be printed on a map, so punters can move their way around them all between 8am and noon, nabbing bargains and helping homeowners have a spring clean before winter.
Every dollar raised through the garage sales will go to the fire brigade.
Forward’s hoping the new vehicle will be in the town within the next couple of months and is grateful to the support from the Arrowtown community.
‘‘It’s for their benefit.
‘‘It’s certainly [going to be] a big help for the community, with [the] ambulance being so far away.’’
Last year, Mountain Scene reported the 17-year-old vehicle the brigade has needs replacing, with the new one helping to increase the volunteers’ capability with medical calls, cliff rescues and the like.
Handling about 160 calls a year, the Arrowtown brigade’s also a ‘‘medical first-response unit’’, triaging and stabilising patients involved in car
crashes, for example, till an ambulance arrives.
To host a garage sale, email [email protected] by the end of today.
