Fire and Emergency NZ

Our seven-person team has been doing the mahi in British Columbia, Canada for a couple of days now, using their specialist skills to help fight the wildfires raging across the province 🔥 There are currently 996 active fires in Canada, with 389 in British Columbia. 📸: The Australasian contingent in British Columbia. We are happy to be able to help our friends in Canada alongside our Aussie neighbours ❤

Yesterday, a team of six incident management team members left for British Columbia to help fight wildfires raging across Canada. We sent a contingent of two helicopter coordinators, two division supervisors and two operations branch directors. This team is made up of four Fire and Emergency personnel, one from Department of Conservation and one from Forest Protection Services. They will form part of an Australasian contingent that will support Canada’s firefighting operations and join up with our agency representative, who left for Canada via Australia on Friday. International deployments are an important part of what we do, supporting our partner countries in their time of need, as they would help us if we ever needed it. ❤ This will be our 72nd international wildfire deployment since 2000, with 1509 firefighters deployed over that time.

Last week, our Disabled Employee Led Network (ELN) met with Whaikaha - Ministry of Disabled People and Disabled Persons Assembly NZ - DPA to discuss their mahi, their priorities and the fire fatality statistics that impact disabled people. Our internal Disability Network focuses on two overarching goals; what they can do to reduce risk to disabled people in the community, and how they can better support disabled people across our organisation. It was great to kōrero about the mahi happening at Whaikaha and Disabled Persons Assembly and how we can continue to serve and support the 1.2 million disabled people across Aotearoa. ❤

We now have six trained specialist water response teams across the whole motu! Our working safely in water project began two years ago to provide our people with the skills, tools and knowledge they need to work safely in water. Since then, the teams have put their training to the test, deploying to events such as the severe weather in the North Island and the Abbey Caves recovery in Whangārei. Auahatanga - we strive to improve. Having these specialist water response teams strengthens our emergency response and our commitment to our communities 🙌

Our people have been supporting the Wairoa community following the severe weather event last week. Our teams don’t always arrive in a big red truck, they come in a variety of uniforms and vehicles with different specialised skills. Supporting our local Wairoa volunteer firefighters were career firefighters, Urban Search and Rescue, specialist water rescue teams, a drone team and a wider network of support staff. Whanaungatanga - we are better together as we serve and support ❤

Ngā mihi o te tau hou, happy new year! Yesterday our people gathered in Te Whanganui-a-Tara, Wellington to celebrate the Māori New Year and the appearance of Puanga and Matariki in the sky. ✨ Over the next few days, our people across the motu will be holding ceremonies at dawn when these star constellations will be most visible. The ceremony known as 'hautapu' gives us an opportunity to gather, reflect on the past and give thanks to the stars as we look towards the future.

Our teams continue their mahi in Wairoa today following yesterday’s severe weather and will stay there while they’re needed. We have volunteer and career people on the ground, along with USAR and specialist water rescue teams and drone operators. They’ve been assessing around 400 flood affected buildings to identify the most significantly damaged so that the council can then carry out more detailed assessments. If you’ve been affected by this weather event and find yourself without power, remember to switch all light switches, power outlets, and appliances off. Our thoughts are with the Wairoa community, and we continue to thank our crews for all their hard mahi. ❤

Yesterday, a delegation from Fiji paid a visit to our National Coordination Centre which supports Fire and Emergency’s response during significant or multiple emergencies. The delegation included Hon Sakiasi Raisevu Ditoka, Minister for Rural and Maritime Development and Disaster Management, Ratu Isoa Rokowasadromu Talemaibua, Permanent Secretary for Rural and Maritime Development and Disaster Management, and Adi Vasiti Radinivuna Soko, Director National Disaster Management Office, as well as other members of the Fijian emergency services sector. Fiji is an important regional partner for Fire and Emergency and played a key role in the Cyclone Gabrielle response sending 34 personnel to assist recovery efforts. This visit was an opportunity to acknowledge their support and say vinaka vakalevu - thank you very much.

Ngā mihi nui ki ēnei kaitinei ahi hou e 17 i te putanga o ō rātou ihu i te National Training Centre i Rotorua. 👏 A huge congratulations to our 17 newest career firefighters who graduated at the National Training Centre in Rotorua! After 12 weeks of training, our recruits demonstrated their skills to their friends and whānau at yesterday's ceremony where they were officially welcomed to the Fire and Emergency whānau as firefighters 👨🚒 A big ka pai to Gary Mills who was awarded Top Recruit! 🥇 Our 17 graduates will be serving their communities in the following districts: Tāmaki Makaurau | Auckland: 4 Waikato: 4 Te Moana a Toi-te-Huatahi | Bay of Plenty: 1 Taranaki: 1 Manawatu/Whanganui: 1 Te Whanganui-a-Tara | Wellington: 4 Waitaha: Canterbury: 2

The Rhodes household is busier than most, seeing as all four of the Rhodes are volunteer firefighters! Mum Tracy joined the Tāneatua Brigade, where her dad was Chief Fire Officer, in 1991. After a bit, she moved to the Whakatāne Volunteer Fire Brigade where she has volunteered ever since and is now Station Officer! Then husband Jamie, Rural Controller at Eastern Bay Volunteer Fire Brigade, and their two daughters Emmerson and Jordyn followed in Tracy’s footsteps. Emmerson volunteers at Eastern Bay with Jamie while Jordyn, who signed up to volunteer the second she turned 16, splits her time between Whakatāne and Eastern Bay 🚒 Tracy loves that being in a brigade is just like being part of a big whānau and says she can never see herself leaving ❤ Huge shout out to the Rhodes whānau for protecting and serving your community every day!