Location Awareness
Historically houses at Castle Hill were identified using Lot numbers. However, regular street numbers have long been assigned to all the streets at Castle Hill, and it has been the Community Association’s position for quite a while now that the use of Lot numbers to identify houses should be discouraged, with street numbers being the best way to identify houses, both for the use of emergency services and also for rental visitors trying to find the house they’ve rented.
Google Maps shows street numbers for houses/sections in all the established streets in the village. Please ensure that your house displays a suitably visible street number towards the street to aid identification.
Fire
The nearest volunteer fire brigade support is in the Village with further support being provided by Springfield and Arthur’s Pass, both of which are 40-50 minutes away. With six trained fire fighters in the Village, the community is no longer on its own in terms of first response.
Take the time to acquaint yourself with Fire Safety in the Home and location of firefighting facilities in the village. Also read In Case of a Fire Emergency.
Medical Emergencies
The nearest medical centre is Darfield Medical Centre, 03 318 8511.
There are a number of medical professionals who have houses in the village. The ICP (Incident Control Point) has a listing of doctors, nurses and first aiders who may be in the Village in the event of a medical emergency. Call the rostered Duty Person (listed in the window of the ICP) who will contact someone who may be in the Village and able to assist.
One of our friendly medical professionals has put together some suggestions in relation to a First Aid Kit.
Defibrillator
The Village Automatic Defibrillator (AED) is in an exterior cabinet (unlocked) on the north wall of the ICP (Incident Control Point).
Civil Defence
The Selwyn District Council has supported villagers to form and train an Emergency Response Team. This team can be activated in an emergency.
| Role | Person | Phone Number |
|---|---|---|
| Incident Controller | Dick Moore | 021 736 761 |
| Comms | Bruce Lord Glenn Fergus | 027 430 0936 027 475 6347 |
| Welfare Officer | Georgie Greig | 022 136 6529 |
In a major Civil Defence event a Street Coordinator will be appointed for your street and is likely to check on your house to ensure all is well. SDC has a website called Selwyn Gets Ready where residents are advised to register their details. Registration ensures receipt of text and email messages with weather warnings, fire evacuation notices, and other emergency information.
Satellite Phone
This is located inside the ICP (Incident Control Point). This can only be accessed by calling the CRT Duty person at the time (contact details in window of the ICP).
Wasps
At certain times of year (mainly summer), wasps can be a problem in the beech forest and sometimes around houses (e.g. nesting in banks etc).
Householders are recommended to consider the purchase of an “epi-pen” for use in the event of an anaphylactic reaction to a wasp sting, as medical assistance could be some time away.
Wasp nests can be easily treated with a straightforward application of Carbaryl powder (e.g. branded as Kiwicare “No Wasps”) into the mouth of the nest; this is recommended to be performed in the evening when most of the wasps will be in the nest, and can be effective in as little as 30 minutes.