The men and women of the Winton Volunteer Fire Brigade have attracted national attention with a dance video they made to raise funds for the Southland Charity Hospital Trust.

Fire brigade chief Steve Milne said the team didn’t know their lip-synced version of Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars’ hit “Uptown Funk’’ was going to be released until an hour before it went live, about 7.30pm on Monday.

“I was the grumpy one at the end," Mr Milne said, of his challenge to other volunteer brigades around New Zealand to support the trust’s Buy a Brick Campaign.

In the video, several fully kitted fire fighters dance around the fire station and senior fire fighter Guy Johnston has a cameo moment with a fire pole.

Mr Milne said the video was fun to make and only three secret dance practices were required. 

“There were only three practice nights, of about an hour or so. In the end the whole thing came together in about 35 to 45 minutes. We did it outside of normal training nights," he said.

Already, the brigade’s expectations had been met because it had been picked up by national media, including TV One’s Seven Sharp programme tonight, he said. 

“We wanted it to go viral," he said.

By this afternoon, fundraising for the Southland Charity Hospital’s Buy a Brick Campaign had reached $212,800, with 1723 bricks and 81 commemorative plaques sold.

The hospital is the legacy of Winton man Blair Vining, who died in October 2019 of bowel cancer.

Mr Milne said Mr Vining was a good friend of the fire brigade and had touched the lives of many in the small town of 2000 through his passion for rugby.

Mr Vining was a member of the Midlands Rugby Club and coached junior players including Mr Milne’s son.

The fire brigade had worked at black tie fundraising events Mr Vining had hosted.

After receiving his diagnosis in 2018 and being informed he had weeks to live and would probably not get a chance to see a specialist, Mr Vining vowed to fight for better access to health services for Southlanders. He and his wife Melissa Vining launched the Southland Charity Hospital Trust Board to push the project forward.

The Invercargill Licensing Trust has since donated a building – the former Clifton Inn – and Bonisch Consulting has drawn up concept plans.

Mrs Vining is a charity hospital board member and has helped spearhead the fundraising effort, which includes the Buy a Brick Campaign and a Casual Friday event next week (July 31), where people are encouraged to wear red, black and white to raise funds for the hospital.

The charity hospital’s media and communications manager Alana Dixon-Calder said hospital board members felt “humbled" and “blown away by the support" for the Buy A Brick campaign, with donations coming in from all over the country as well as from Australia and the United States.

Members of brigades from around New Zealand and Australia had commented on the video so there was hope they would get behind the Buy A Brick campaign too – and if they decided to do another dance video of their own, that would be a bonus, she said. 

The campaign was Mr Vining’s idea. “He used to say if everybody bought a brick, we could build the hospital our community so desperately needs..."

“If we reach our goal of hitting the $1 million mark, we could start building the Southland Charity Hospital as early as 1 August. We are hoping that Kiwis will continue to support us and get involved in our Buy A Brick event on 31 July, to help us hit that mark," Ms Dixon-Calder said.

Mr Vining’s rugby club, Midlands, has also issued a challenge to rugby clubs around New Zealand to get behind the Buy A Brick campaign. 

Invercargill’s Star and Pirates-Old Boys rugby clubs are also supporting the video and fundraising campaign.

The Southland Charity Hospital is modelled on the Canterbury Charity Hospital, founded in 2007. It will include a full-scale operating suite and a dental suite.

To begin with, the hospital will offer colonoscopies and explorative procedures, with the goal of offering intensive surgical procedures in the future.

The Southland Charity Hospital is not funded by the Government and relies on community support and donations.

Last week, an anonymous Southland couple donated $100,000 to the hospital trust.

Mrs Vining said she and the trust could not thank the couple enough. 

"Their act of selflessness is literally going to save the lives of people in our community. Because of their generosity, and the support of countless others, families throughout Southland and Otago won't lose their husbands, fathers, mothers, children, grandmothers. These people are going to be able to lead happy, healthy, long lives, and their loved ones will be spared the indescribable pain of losing them," Mrs Vining said.

View the Winton Fire Brigade's Facebook video challenge HERE

View the Midlands Rugby Club's Facebook video challenge HERE

Check out the plans for the Southland Charity Hospital here: