Onerahi Volunteer Fire Brigade

Community Organisation

Onerahi Volunteer Fire Brigade
1 Handforth Street
Onerahi
Whangarei 0110
1509 days ago

Fire Risk

Michael Chubb from Onerahi Volunteer Fire Brigade

You will all be aware we have had a Prohibited Fire Season a few weeks now. Yet around the region there are still fires being lit.

Temperatures are very high and vegetation very dry.

Please be very careful with anything that might start a fire. For example machinery that might strike something … View more
You will all be aware we have had a Prohibited Fire Season a few weeks now. Yet around the region there are still fires being lit.

Temperatures are very high and vegetation very dry.

Please be very careful with anything that might start a fire. For example machinery that might strike something and create a spark.

1596 days ago

Firework Safety

Michael Chubb from Onerahi Volunteer Fire Brigade

I know you will have seen this message often. But we will repeat it anyway.

Today is Guy Fawkes. A night where Fire and Emergency brigades nationwide get a huge influx of fire calls.

This year has seen Whangarei with quite a large deficit in overall rainfall. This coupled with the current … View more
I know you will have seen this message often. But we will repeat it anyway.

Today is Guy Fawkes. A night where Fire and Emergency brigades nationwide get a huge influx of fire calls.

This year has seen Whangarei with quite a large deficit in overall rainfall. This coupled with the current heat wave, recent strong winds and todays low humidity has really increased the likelihood a vegetation fire can be accidently started. Last Saturdays fire at Abbey caves is a fine example of that.

So please be careful where you use your fireworks. Please ensure you have a hose pre-connected to a tap near where you use the fireworks.

And... if the worse happens and a fire does get started don't delay your decision, call us on 111.

It is much better to attend a fire already out or small enough to extinguish quickly then a large raging fire that takes huge resources to extinguish.

2150 days ago

Onerahi Fire District

Michael Chubb from Onerahi Volunteer Fire Brigade

Fire and Emergency New Zealand, just this month made Onerahi its own Fire District. Up until now Onerahi Volunteer Fire Brigade had been an auxiliary unit to the main brigade in Whangarei (as was Whangarei heads Brigade which also now has its own district).


Being made our own district reflects … View more
Fire and Emergency New Zealand, just this month made Onerahi its own Fire District. Up until now Onerahi Volunteer Fire Brigade had been an auxiliary unit to the main brigade in Whangarei (as was Whangarei heads Brigade which also now has its own district).


Being made our own district reflects the confidence FENZ has in our individual brigades to carry out the roles required of us.


We at Onerahi a very proud of this moment. For now the only noticeable change is the creation of a Chief Fire Officer and Deputy for Onerahi.


The Chief has already been appointed ([myself] Michael Chubb). Applications for Deputy are still be sought.


Onerahi members are all volunteers who put in a considerable amount of time and resource to their training and responses to Fire and Emergencies in our District and beyond.


This year in particular has been very busy for us with over 62 call outs so far this calendar year. That is well over half our annual average.


Please take care and see if we can reverse this growth in our work load.

2453 days ago

Fire and Emergency New Zealand

Michael Chubb from Onerahi Volunteer Fire Brigade

Today 1st July 2017 marks the first day of Fire and Emergency New Zealand. This new organisation replaces the New Zealand Fire Service and the many different rural fire authorities that we had for many years.

The new organisation is a merger of all the rural and urban brigades. It will take some… View more
Today 1st July 2017 marks the first day of Fire and Emergency New Zealand. This new organisation replaces the New Zealand Fire Service and the many different rural fire authorities that we had for many years.

The new organisation is a merger of all the rural and urban brigades. It will take some time to standardise all these brigades into one.

Really we at Onerahi Volunteer Fire Brigade don't expect to see a lot of change in what we do, but the new Act does recognise that we do more than just fight fires and are in fact an Emergency Service so addresses that gap in the old legislation.

Behind the scenes the path is laid for the organisation to improve even better in the services we provide and become a very efficient, responsive and world class Emergency Service.

2682 days ago

Civil Defence

Michael Chubb from Onerahi Volunteer Fire Brigade

This mornings tsunami alarms has highlighted there is some confusion about the alarms their location and how they sound, not to mention what to do about it.

Onerahi does have a community response plan. This has been compiled by a small but dedicated group of individuals.

Coincidently this … View more
This mornings tsunami alarms has highlighted there is some confusion about the alarms their location and how they sound, not to mention what to do about it.

Onerahi does have a community response plan. This has been compiled by a small but dedicated group of individuals.

Coincidently this group is getting together this Thursday (17th) to update the response plan and discuss ways to get more awareness of Civil Defence in general.

All residents are welcome to attend and take part.

This mornings incident highlights that many take little interest on the subject but at 1 in the morning with alarms sounding they suddenly wish they had.

Thursday's meeting will be held in the Fire Brigade Station 1 Handforth Street at 7 pm.

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