At a council meeting on Wednesday the Fire Authority agreed a proposal for round-the-clock cover using a smaller fire engine and fewer crew.

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The complex runs completely on solar power, courtesy of 150 Sanyo solar panels that provide round-the-clock electricity. ("We fire up the generator once a month just to see if it works, " Derek Joubert says.) Construction materials were chosen through an environmental audit: The furniture is made from Indonesian mahogany uprooted by the 2004 tsunami.

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Teams from the army, the fire service and border guards are still working around the clock at the site to find survivors, using heavy lifting gear, tools and their bare hands.

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But about two or three o'clock of Monday, the following Monday, the city manager, the fire chief and I went out for a visual tour of the area.

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The clock typically doesn't start or stop on travel time between the station and a fire until someone in the truck pushes a button.

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"Around five o'clock the policeman knocked on my door and said Martin do you know your car is on fire, " he said.

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