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Memorial services held on 22 February marked one year since the Christchurch earthquake that claimed 185 lives. As well as remembering loved ones lost, there was also recognition for the unsung heroes who contributed to rescue and relief efforts following the disaster.

This year’s Christchurch Civic Awards were replaced by Earthquake Awards, honouring the special contribution made to the city and its people over a very tough twelve months. Among the 140 recipients were two Fletcher Building staff members who were nominated for the service and support they provided to the city and the people of Christchurch.

Grant Close, PlaceMakers Riccarton Joint Venture Partner

Grant Close was nominated for his dedication to supporting the search and rescue effort. In the nomination submitted by NZ Urban Search and Rescue (USAR), Grant was identified as “one of the ‘silent’ heroes of the Christchurch earthquake crisis and a worthy nominee for the Christchurch Earthquake Awards”.

Grant was behind the well-known PlaceMakers Latimer Square initiative, where tools and equipment were provided to search and rescue teams who were involved with the rescue and recovery effort and the shoring up of buildings. At the same time, he ensured his staff were taken care of by providing them with food, water and even a laundry service for those without power. Back at PlaceMakers Riccarton, Grant replaced all the racking with some of a higher standard in order to make his staff feel safe in any future earthquakes. He also donated wheelbarrows and shovels to the Student Army in its fight against liquefaction.

Grant was humbled by the award and immediately included his PlaceMakers colleagues in the recognition.

Craig Thompson, Earthquake Recovery’s Bishopdale Hub, Contracts Supervisor

While Craig Thompson shared his story with very few, his Christchurch Earthquake Award nomination was submitted by his wife Julie on behalf of her and the couple's 11 children. Craig risked his life to save others.

Prior to joining Fletcher Construction’s Earthquake Recovery team in November 2011, Craig worked for GraceWorks Demolition, posted at Christchurch Airport. When the February 22 earthquake struck he accepted the call for volunteer contractors to assist in the CBD and was escorted into the heart of the destruction at the CTV Building. For 12 hours Craig worked tirelessly to remove debris while the aftershocks continued and toxic smoke poured from the burning, fallen building. That evening his efforts led to USAR rescuing five people from the rubble, and for the next six days, Craig returned to the cordoned-off CBD where he assisted various teams with a number of very difficult tasks.

Craig too is humble about his efforts, acknowledging GraceWorks Demolition, Kate Williams, Bishopdale Hub Manager and Fletcher Building for their ongoing support. He also recognised fellow Bishopdale Hub contracts supervisor Maurice Gardine who worked alongside Craig at the CTV Building. While he was not the recipient of an Earthquake Award, Maurice also worked tirelessly to assist USAR with its rescue and recovery effort. 

After checking his store for damage following the early morning September quake, PlaceMakers Riccarton JV Partner Grant Close drove to the Civil Defence offices in Christchurch to offer his help.

By 8.00am, the Riccarton team were supplying timber and other useful items to emergency workers on the ground from a makeshift PlaceMakers branch in the Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) base at the Woolston fire station. The team operated from there for two weeks until the emergency operation was wound down.

In February, Grant was in downtown Christchurch when the earthquake hit. After being thrown to the ground and watching the Smith’s City car park collapse, he knew there would be mass casualties throughout the city. Grant returned to the Riccarton branch, closed it to normal operations and then called for volunteers to help with the gathering of shoring timber, wrecking bars, concrete cutters and any other supplies they could think of. By 5:30 pm that evening another makeshift depot had been set up in conjunction with USAR at the emergency centre in Latimer Square. PlaceMakers volunteers began going into the cordon with Police escorts to supply emergency workers with the much needed equipment and tools. Trucks loaded with shoring timber were also sent to the CTV and PGG Buildings for engineers to create crawl spaces through the rubble and to better secure buildings that might have otherwise collapsed.

Complete with an inwards goods bay and detailed store layout, PlaceMakers Latimer opened for business at 7 am on 23 February. This fully operational depot was run by volunteer Riccarton staff and was open 24 hours each day for three weeks to service USAR, the Fire Service, Police, Civil Defence and the Army and any other emergency workers that were within the CBD cordon. The depot was a hive of activity as the number of emergency personnel swelled with the realisation of how severe the disaster was; Christchurch’s 40 person USAR team alone grew to over 1000 as members came from across the world. Items that PlaceMakers didn’t sell, or won’t sell again were sourced by the Latimer branch with a promise of being supplied either as soon as possible or within 24 hours. A message board displaying words of encouragement printed from online message boards was also displayed and updated daily in the depot for the emergency workers to read when they went there.

The dedication of the team at PlaceMakers Latimer and Riccarton to source anything requested has been commended by emergency workers. The head of the USAR effort commented that it meant they could focus on the rescue and recovery operation without being caught up with logistical issues. A number of international USAR teams are also going to take back their learnings from the way PlaceMakers worked with emergency services and put a similar plan in place in case a disaster occurs in their own countries.

Examples of items sourced and supplied by PlaceMakers Latimer:

• Trolley jacks
• Sleeping bags, eye masks, mittens and balaclavas
• Chapsticks, Vicks sticks and sani-pens
• Disposable overalls, masks, over-gloves and booties
• Commercial-sized microwaves
• Boxer shorts
• Nose plugs
• Highly specialised arc light bulbs (brought in from overseas)
• Fluoro starter kits
• Toner cartridges

With no end to the earthquakes in sight, The Fletcher Building Employee Education Fund (EEF) organised two family adventure getaway weekends for Christchurch employees free of charge as a result of EEF sponsorship.

The weekends were organised in conjunction with Living Springs Adventure Camp (LSA) as an opportunity for Christchurch staff from across the Fletcher Group to get away from their day-to-day stresses. Spouses and children were also welcome, which meant quality time could be spent together as a family in the outdoors, with a focus on fun and adventure.

EEF Fund Manager Sue Patterson said the weekend was initially a one-off event, but proved so popular that a second weekend was organised.

Families were treated to outdoor activities, such as high ropes, white water rafting, kayaking and abseiling, and each were designed to take people out of their comfort zones to help them overcome challenges while still being enjoyable and building confidence and life skills.

Click here for more information on the Fletcher Building Employee Education Fund

Firth Industries is ready to put Canterbury’s liquefaction to good use – as an ingredient in a type of concrete that will help fill in the holes left by February’s quake.

The idea of Quake Foam came about after the desire to find a use for the liquefaction that formed all over Christchurch. Firth took a sample of the silt to analyse its characteristics and see if it could be used as a substitute in any of their products for sand, which as an ingredient is a large part of the concrete-making process.

Tests came back to show the fineness of the liquefaction ruled it out for use in typical applications that require strength and durability, but that it could be used as a filler of gaps and holes, especially those with restricted access such as under houses and deep crevices or trenches. And with the product easily compactable, it also means that it can be laid quickly and without much effort, will not settle over time and can be easily excavated if required.

Firth’s southern regional sales manager Dominic Sutton says it was easy to come up with a way to use the silt as it is similar to another product they have.

“Quake Foam is similar to Firth’s Flowable Fill product, so all we did was swap out some of the sand used in our normal mix and replace it with the silt and adjust the mix”, he said.

“I’ve had experience in the past with using Flowable Fill in mine shafts on the West Coast, so Quake Foam essentially works the same way but will help put a dent in the mounds of liquefaction around the city”.

Firth is ready to supply when it is needed and believes there’s enough silt to use the product to fill every hole in Christchurch.

When the February earthquake hit, Fletcher Construction leading hand Graeme Hann and other contractors were working to repair damage to the Grand Chancellor Hotel, caused by both the September earthquake and the Boxing Day aftershock.

Graeme remembers being knocked to the floor as the building tipped over about a metre within 10 seconds, leading to the collapse of the internal staircase.  The only possible way of rescue was from the outside of the unstable building, so Graeme organised a crane with a cage to reach and retrieve those trapped on the upper floors.

Unnerved by the quake itself, or its severe aftershocks that further weakened the hotel, Graeme and the other contractors continued working to free the hotel's frightened and injured guests.  Among those rescued were three couples from the US who later wrote to Fletcher Building expressing their gratitude to the team for their "heroic actions" that day.

"We all found ourselves on the 22nd floor with nowhere to go, with one side of the stairs completely gone and the doors in the existing damaged stairs jammed shut. They [the team] remained calm and compassionate while taking actions to proactively lead us to safety", wrote the American guests.

"After the second big aftershock, they risked their lives to descend the damaged stairs and break open the jammed doors, floor by floor, and led us to floor 15 where they broke the window onto the roof of the parking garage where a crane lifted us to the ground.  Throughout the entire two or more hours, they were very concerned for our safety and for keeping us calm and reassured that we would be saved. They put all of us first above their own fears and needs."

It wasn't until 7:30 pm that evening when Graeme had done all he could to help that he contacted his Fletcher managers to advise they were safe.

“Awesome”, “generous” and “devoted” are just three of the words used to describe Ken Jones, PlaceMakers Cranford Street JV Operator and winner of the Nominate your Mate Award at the 2011 Fletcher Building Health, Safety and Sustainability Awards.

The Nominate your Mate award sees nominations come from Fletcher Building businesses worldwide and recognises outstanding individual contribution to safety improvement.

Ken and wife Jane received a whopping 48 nominations for over half of his staff at the Christchurch PlaceMakers branch for going over and above what was required in the September, February and June earthquakes. The couple’s support covered all areas, from moral to financial to safety.

The nominations praised Ken for putting the needs of others ahead of his own. Ken and Jane ensured staff were fed and watered by having the BBQ going every day, organised teams to assist colleagues whose homes had varying degrees of damage, from minor repairs and liquefaction to needing to be vacated entirely, and supported and encouraged staff to have time off to deal with personal and family issues. Regular newsletters also provided an update for staff with important dates and information, including quake advice and support agency contacts.

The positive impact their actions had on staff morale also rippled through to customers and staff from other branches, who were humbled by the overall atmosphere at Cranford Street.

Fortunately the Humes Christchurch sales centre in Hornby was unaffected by the February earthquake, so the branch quickly increased its stock levels to cope with anticipated demand.

A second branch in the badly affected suburb of Wainoni was also set up, and this led to the need for more staff in the area.  Once the call was put out to Humes staff from across the country, employees from as far north as Auckland have been volunteering to make the trip to Canterbury to help their colleagues in any way they can.

With a steady stream of Humes staff into the area, spare rooms in the Hornby sales centre have been transformed into temporary sleeping quarters, so staff don't have to put added pressure on others for accommodation.  Dubbed the "Humes Hilton", the rooms have blow up mattresses which are able to sleep two to a room, bathroom facilities and a projector in the "lounge" to watch television.

Two earthquake damaged Christchurch kindergartens now have peace of mind after Fletcher EQR donated building materials to strengthen and insulate their buildings.

The Cashmere and North New Brighton branches of the not-for-profit Kidsfirst Kindergarten network suffered severe damage in the February earthquake, and while basic repairs were covered by insurance, it made good sense to insulate the badly damaged brick walls as the repairs were being carried out. This is where Fletcher EQR stepped in.

“Kidsfirst has been around for 100 years and some of our buildings have been around for a while too – making a lot of them uninsulated. Being able to insulate these two buildings will be beneficial for the children, making it warmer for them and bring our heating costs down – any extra savings are greatly appreciated!” said Ms Rebecca Nicholson, Kidsfirst’s Support Services Manager.

Fletcher EQR donated Pink Batts and all materials associated with installing the insulation such as tape and strapping, building paper for lining walls and plywood for added wall bracing, which Rebecca says will keep the children safer this winter.

“This generous donation has allowed us to use the money we would have had to spend on insulating these buildings on other projects as insulation was not covered by our insurance for earthquake repairs,” she said.

When the scale of the Canterbury earthquake was realised and some Easysteel staff were without water, Southern Regional Manager Trevor Day called on Account Manager Anton Aitchison for help.

This would be a relatively easy task for Anton, as he owned a farm property on the outskirts of town that had direct access to ready-to-drink bore water. But with nothing to house the water in and the price of small containers suffering from post-quake inflation, Anton and Joe Koning, a colleague visiting Christchurch from Hamilton, decided to think big, returning from the shops with a 900 litre water tank that fitted neatly onto the back of a ute.

Once the tank was filled, Anton and Joe began their journey to the homes of some of their colleagues. They passed a lot of people walking up the road to nearby water stations carrying empty water containers, so the pair stopped to fill the containers from their tank. They then spent the afternoon driving around some of the worst hit areas in the Eastern suburbs including Bexley, Brighton and Wainoni dispensing water to anyone that needed it – including their colleagues.

Anton continued to supply water every night for two weeks to both staff and members of the wider community. He then continued helping his Easysteel colleagues as needed and only stopped in mid-April when Christchurch were told they no longer needed to boil their water.

A number of Fletcher Building businesses turned red and black this year in support of Canterbury, to raise funds for the recovery and rebuild.

Fletcher Aluminium, and a combined effort by Crane Distribution (Mastertrade, Corys and Mico) branches and Australia’s Tradelink all ran Red and Black Days in their regions for various earthquake-related charities.

Branches put on sausage sizzles and held raffles and competitions, including guessing the number of jaffas and sumo-suit wrestling. A number of suppliers and customers also donated goods for auction, including a fishing trip, a BBQ and a chillybin hamper.

More than $NZ80,000 was raised across the businesses.

Steve Priest, Crane Distribution’s GM North Island donated their $40,000 share to the New Zealand Red Cross, a donation gratefully received at their offices by Red Cross Auckland area manager Cami Arend.