Fire and Emergency NZ

Te Waikoropupū Springs in Tākaka are a sacred taonga for Manawhenua Ki Mohua (Golden Bay). The springs and the surrounding bush area have been registered as a wāhi tapu (sacred) site with Heritage New Zealand. At the end of August, our people, along with Mana Whenua, Department of Conservation (DOC) and Department of Corrections NZ replaced highly flammable plants near the springs with 500 low flammability natives. This was because fire behaviour models predict an uncontrolled fire in the area would cause catastrophic damage. Low flammability planting, education and early detection of fire will give our volunteer crews a much better chance of successfully responding to any fire. To everyone that was involved in this mahi, ka mau te wehi! (Awesome!) 👏 Want to learn more about low flammability planting? Head to our website to learn what you can do to protect your property 👇 https://lnkd.in/gwNfFMKr

Our second group of firefighters deployed to assist in the Canadian wildfire response touched back down in Aotearoa this morning 🙌 Bravo crew has been carrying out arduous firefighting on multiple wildfires across Alberta, the largest of which being around 12,000 hectares! We are proud of our people for all their hard mahi supporting Canada in their time of need. Ka rawe, huge effort team!

Auee te mamae ee. It is with deep sorrow and respect that our Board Chair Rebecca Keoghan MNZM and I, on behalf of Fire and Emergency New Zealand, acknowledge and mourn the death of Kiingi Tuuheitia Pootatau Te Wherowhero VII, Maaori King. We remember and honour Kiingi Tuuheitia as a strong advocate of kotahitanga (unity) and of growing and working together for the benefit of us all. As a mark of our mourning and respect, earlier today our flags were flown at half-mast on fire stations across the motu. Nooreira e te kiingi o te kotahitanga, haere ki a raatou maa. Moe mai raa.

Last night, Diversity Works New Zealand awarded our organisation the Medium-Large Organisation Highly Commended recognition in the Ngā Āhuatanga o Te Tiriti Tohu category 👏 This was to recognise our mahi working with Māori as tangata whenua and improving our cultural capability to better deliver services essential to keeping our people safe. It is a reflection of everyone across our organisation who dedicates their knowledge and time to work towards better outcomes for Māori, both within Fire and Emergency and in the public. Ngā mihi nui ki a koutou ❤ We are honoured to receive this award and will continue to uphold our commitment to Māori in our mahi each day.

We’re excited to welcome the members of our new Local Advisory Committees in Waikato, Hawke’s Bay, Taranaki, Nelson-Tasman and Southland. The committees will bring a strong community voice to our work so that we can better support communities to prepare for, respond to, and recover well from emergencies when they happen. All LAC members are well respected and connected within their communities. They represent a diverse range of interests and offer strong local knowledge and we look forward to working with them and the value they will bring. Nau mai haere mai to our new Local Advisory Committee members 👏 https://lnkd.in/gdvUBqHz

Nau mai rā, welcome home to our first group of people deployed to assist in the wildfire response in Canada and the United States!   This specialist incident management team has been located in British Columbia, Canada, coordinating and managing aircraft and firefighters on the ground.   Thank you for your hard mahi; now for some well-deserved rest and whānau time ❤

Unbox our Type 5 Medium Aerial trucks with us! 🎁 Our three Type 5 Medium Aerial trucks have arrived in Auckland and will soon be on their way to Fraser Engineering in Wellington for the body build 💪 The Type 5 Mediums will be going to Wellington (Thorndon Station), Christchurch (Christchurch City Station) and Dunedin (Dunedin City Station). The Type 5 Large and Type 6 Aerial trucks are being shipped to R. A. Bell in Brisbane, Australia and are expected to arrive in mid-September! The Type 5 Large will eventually go to Auckland (Parnell Station) and the Type 6 to Hamilton (Hamilton City Station). Work is underway to finalise the detailed designs of lockers, layouts, and equipment with the project team working closely with a representative from each of the five stations. 🚒

Did you know that firefighters must complete their drivers qualification before they can get behind the wheel? It's not as easy as riding a bike and it's not like driving a car. Our drivers are responsible for getting our crews and trucks safely to an incident, navigating tight streets, heavy traffic and reaching hard to access sites 🚒💨

Today we are sending a six-person specialist team to the United States to help fight the wildfires burning in the Pacific Northwest. Our people will be leading groups of firefighters or helicopter operators while there. They will support the management capacity of the United States wildfire services, while also bringing back valuable experience to Aotearoa New Zealand ahead of our own wildfire season 🔥

Thank you, Scion for being a Proud Employer of two dedicated volunteers from the Canterbury High Country Volunteer Fire Brigade. Richard Parker and Jamie Kunzli recently received service clasps to recognise more than 10 years’ service to their community. Jamie also received a pin to recognise his critical role leading aircraft operations in the Cyclone Gabrielle response. Congratulations! ❤ Thanks to all our Proud Employers for valuing our volunteers and enabling them to respond to emergencies during mahi.