Dunsandel Volunteer Fire Brigade

20/09/2026

🔥 25 YEARS OF SERVICE – CONGRATULATIONS KEN! ⭐

Last night we celebrated an incredible milestone for our Chief, Ken who has proudly served with the Dunsandel Volunteer Fire Brigade for 25 years.

To mark 25 years of dedicated service to the community, Ken has been awarded his Gold Star — a very well-deserved recognition of the time, commitment and countless hours he has given to the brigade and the people of our community.

Over the past 25 years, Ken has answered countless callouts, attended training, supported our members and given his time whenever it was needed. His knowledge, leadership and commitment have made a huge difference to our brigade.

A milestone like this doesn’t happen without support behind the scenes, a huge thank you to Sue, Sammi, Brandon and the rest of Ken’s family for the years of understanding, support and patience — the late nights, interrupted weekends, missed family time and everything else that comes with having a firefighter in the family. ❤️

Congratulations Ken on 25 years of service and your Gold Star — an outstanding achievement and one you should be incredibly proud of! 👏🚒⭐

From all of us at Dunsandel Volunteer Fire Brigade, thank you for everything you have given to the brigade and our community over the past 25 years.

Heres to many more 🚒🔥

27/08/2026

Every year for the past 6+ years, we have held community meetings across Canterbury prior to the summer fire season. Usually we approach the communities and advertise our meetings, sometimes with success and sometimes not so successful.

This time though we thought we might try something a little bit different to kick off our preparedness sessions and ask you, the amazing people of Facebook and Instagram, where you think we should come and have a chat? What communities would like us to come educate them on the upcoming fire season and how to keep your properties safe?

We usually combine our sessions with speakers from Civil Defence and Police, to talk about evacuations and animal welfare during fires. Are there any other agencies you would like to hear from at these talks?

We want to hear your thoughts and ideas about how we can help you be fire safe this summer. So let us know below 👇

26/06/2026

Landowners whose unattended burn piles caused a string of vegetation fires across Canterbury last Saturday are being visited by Fire and Emergency New Zealand to ensure they understand their responsibilities for land management fires.

District Commander Dave Stackhouse said that 11 fires escaped and spread quickly in the severe nor-westerly winds. As a result, the district’s firefighters were stretched to levels normally only seen in mid-summer. “I am very disappointed at the number of fires that had been left unattended,” he said. “If it hadn’t rained later on Saturday, we would have been calling on brigades from other districts to assist.”

As it was, almost every fire brigade in Canterbury was called out, so volunteers were called away from their families and Saturday activities for fires that were mostly completely avoidable.

The winds were well forecast so should not have caught anyone by surprise.

While Canterbury is currently in an open fire season, meaning permits are not required for outdoor fires, landowners are always responsible for the fires that they light on their properties. The same applies to forestry managers.

Under Section 60 of the Fire and Emergency New Zealand Act, it is an offence to cause or allow a fire to get out of control and to spread to vegetation or property. The penalties for individuals include a fine of up to $300,000 and up to two years imprisonment.

The message was very simple, Commander Stackhouse said: if you light a fire, you are responsible for it.

While Fire and Emergency always preferred to educate people rather than prosecute, at least one of last Saturday’s fires was on a property where there had been an escaped land management fire within the last year.

Fires must not be left unattended and have to be completely extinguished, not left to smolder. When strong winds are forecast, anyone who has lit a fire should be checking for hotspots that could be reignited.

There is extensive advice at www.checkitsalright.nz.

Vegetation across Canterbury is already unusually dry for this time of year, and the outlook suggests a very high risk of wildfire in spring and summer because of the predicted El Nino weather pattern.

23/05/2026

A huge pat on the back to these legends for conquering the sky tower challenge and raising funds for an amazing cause. It’s not easy climbing 51 floors, 1103 stairs in 25kg of gear. You all did an amazing job.

Well done, now to rest and recover so you can start training for next year.

This year we raised $28,338 putting us is as the 12th brigade in the country for raising funds, such and awesome achievement for a wee town like Dunsandel.

A huge thank you to everyone who supported our Team by donating, buying raffles and attending our bingo nights you are all awesome.

Also a big shout out to Kate, Amber, Steve, Rachel and Holly for being our support crew up in Auckland and a special surprise of Alastair coming up to watch Harry run.

Enjoy training for next year…
🚒🚒🚒

Also shout out to Stoney Creek NZ for our awesome tops, you guys are legends!!

07/05/2026

A huge thank you to everyone for your support at our bingo nights last night.

The numbers continued to grow each week, and the support from the community has been amazing. Every bit of support is helping us raise funds for Blood Cancer NZ, and we truly appreciate everyone who has come along and joined in.

A special thank you to the bowls club for allowing us to use their venue and supporting our fundraising efforts.

And lastly, a massive thank you to all of our sponsors — we wouldn’t have been able to do this without your generosity and support.

We will be back next year, we can’t wait to see you again!

Dunsandel Stair Climb Team 🔥

02/05/2026

Today some of our firefighters took on a different kind of challenge — 656 box step-ups to raise funds for Blood Cancer NZ.

Climbing a 20-inch box 656 times is the equivalent elevation of the Sky Tower, and it was incredible to see it tackled individually, in pairs, and as teams.

A massive shout out to Morgan and Kaden for organising such an epic event, The Grassroots Club for hosting and supporting us, lskd.aotearoa for the awesome prizes, and Elyte Hydration for keeping everyone going.

Thank you to everyone who showed up and gave it their all — the energy and effort were unreal to be part of.

Big thanks to our Fire Chief Ken for letting us bring along one of his personal fire trucks and making us look even cooler than we already do!

To our families — thank you for your constant support and for holding things down at home so we can take part in events like this.

Because of this amazing effort, we raised $1,700 for Blood Cancer NZ!

And finally, a special mention to our smallest cheerleader, Harriet, who kept us going with claps, cheers, and a few dance moves along the way.

Absolutely proud of this crew. 💪🚒

26/04/2026

A huge thank you to Fonterra for their support and generosity for our stair climb team as we raise funds for Blood Cancer NZ.

Your contribution of a donation, prizes for our bingo nights and a cheese raffle have been amazing.

We truly appreciate your kindness and community spirit — thank you for helping us make a difference and raise these vital funds!!

22/04/2026

On Friday we are having our final bingo night to help our sky tower team raise funds for Blood Cancer NZ.
Come on down for a night of fun, raffles and a great feed.

Send us a message to guarantee a seat or feel free to just rock up on Friday night.

We look forward to seeing you there!!

🔥 BURGERS, BINGO & BIG PRIZES! 🔥

Get ready, Dunsandel—this is a night you don’t want to miss! 🍔🎉

📍 Dunsandel Bowls Club
📅 10th, 17th & 24th of April
💲 $25 – burger, chips & bingo included
⏱️Doors open 6pm , Bingo starts 6:30pm

💲 $60 if you prebook all three nights and pay

🏉 Plus—Super Rugby LIVE on the TV! Catch the game while you play!
🎁 Raffles and awesome prizes up for grabs!

Extra bingo cards available to purchase on the night.

Round up your crew, bring your game face, and get ready for a fun-filled night of laughs, good food, and a bit of friendly competition!

All while supporting the Dunsandel Skytower Team raising funds for Blood Cancer NZ ❤️

Spots will fill fast—don’t miss out!
👉 Message us now to lock in your seat!

Door sales on the night EFTPOS Available.

🎉 Good food. Great company. Awesome cause. 🎉

21/04/2026

Recently two of our fire fighters Al Sheppard and Ryan Scott completed their senior fire fighters (SFF) course. A big well done to them on this achievement.

This now means that Al and Ryan will be able to ride in the front seat of the truck. They also bring back new skills and knowledge to the brigade.

A big thank you thank you to to their family’s for supporting them while they were prepping and away on the course.

Well done Al and Ryan, enjoy the view from the front seat 🚒🔥

19/04/2026

Thank you everyone for your amazing support for our Sky Tower team and the cheese raffle — congratulations to Tara Richards ( #29) for winning! 🧀🎉

We’ve got another raffle now up and running:
🎟️ $5 per ticket
🥇 First prize: Bosch Professional 18V sander kit + a Kaiwaka oilskin vest
🥈 Second prize: Load of freshly split firewood
🥉 Third prize: Meat tray

There are only 200 tickets available!
The draw will take place when all tickets are sold or on 27th May (whichever comes first).
To grab a ticket, please message our page or text 027 840 9185.

Thanks again for your continued support we appreciate it 🔥