Frequently Asked Questions
Ngā pātai ka pātaitia nuitia me ngā whakautu
How quickly can we respond?
Most of our brigade members work/live close to the fire station and can respond at a moment's notice when the pager goes off! We aim to get our first vehicle out the door in less than 5 minutes.
Why do we use a fire siren?
The fire siren is the most reliable way to alert our volunteer firefighters that there is an emergency and to respond to the fire station to help the community. It's a fail-safe for when our pagers and mobile app don’t go off or there is a long delay. That delay could cost someone’s life in a serious emergency.
Our fire siren is silenced as a courtesy between 9pm and 7am, but will go off if there are not enough crew responding.
How do the ranks work?
Urban Ranks
Ascending from left to right.
Rural Ranks
Ascending from left to right.
Operational Support Ranks
Operational Support Recruit Firefighter (OS-RCFF) -> Operational Support Firefighter (OS-FF) -> Operational Support Qualified Firefighter (OS-QFF) -> Operational Support Senior Firefighter (OS-SFF) -> Operational Support Station Officer (OS-SO) -> Operational Support Senior Station Officer (OS-SSO)
Visit our Ranks Page to learn more about our ranks
Do you have a roster?
We have a Duty Crew that are rostered on alternating weekends. This is to ensure we always have a crew available and we're ready to respond.
During the week, it is whoever is available due to work/personal commitments.
What type of incidents do you attend?
We respond to a wide variety of emergencies including:
Structure Fires
Vegetation Fires
Medical Emergencies
Motor Vehicle Crashes
Hazardous Materials
Natual Disasters
Recruitment Specific:
What are the age requirements to volunteer?
18+ (or 16-17 with permission from your parent or guardian). There is no upper age limit to volunteer with us, so don’t let this be a barrier!
Are there different types of firefighters?
We have 4 different roles within our Brigade, each are essential to our brigades ability to function well and respond to the needs of our community.
Urban Firefighter | Kaitīnei Ahi
Urban Firefighters respond to a wide range of emergencies such as fires, medical emergencies, car crashes, hazardous substances and more!
Rural Firefighter | Kaitīnei Ahi Taiwhenua
Rural Firefighters do not wear breathing apparatus and respond to vegetation fires and medical emergencies.
Operational Support | Kaitautoko Mahinga
Operational Support Firefighters respond to emergencies and support our firefighters. They carry out tasks like traffic management, lighting and refreshments.
Brigade Support | Kaitautoko Umanga
Brigade Support volunteers do not respond to emergencies. Instead, they help with the running and administration of the Brigade.
If you would like to join the team, visit our Volunteer Page.
Have a question for us?
Get in touch with us via our Contact page.