19/08/2026
🔥 Throwback Thursday: The St Patrick's Church Fire, Munroe St, Napier - 15 August 1981
It was a quiet, sunny Saturday afternoon when our station sirens suddenly broke the weekend calm. The fire was first reported at 3.46pm, just as the country was settling in to watch the telecast of the first Springboks v All Blacks test from Christchurch. Across town, thick black smoke was already billowing above the CBD, it quickly became clear that St Patrick's Catholic Church was fully ablaze.
Napier Brigade crews from the Taradale Rd station were among the first on scene, and as they approached could already see the church was well involved. Hoses ultimately had to stretch up to two blocks away as crews battled low water pressure, while others worked the aerial ladder as the fire took hold. Flames tore up the landmark timber spire, sending sparks skyward until the cross at its very top was completely swallowed by fire. Our crews fought a desperate battle, but a fire of that scale, once it caught, gave us little chance. Within two hours, the church was gone.
The loss really hit home the next morning. Parishioners arriving for Sunday Mass, relocated to the church hall, had to pick their way past blackened beams and smouldering debris. Near a fence line at the back of the property, someone spotted a single unburnt piece of wood on the ground. It turned out to be a wooden shamrock that had fallen intact from the spire. It's now preserved in the Hawke's Bay Museums Trust collection, a small, lasting piece of a heartbreaking day in our city's history.
If you were there, remember the day, or have photos or stories passed down, we'd love you to share them in the comments 👇 Every memory helps us tell the full story as we mark our brigade's 150 years.
On a lighter note, while our crews were up against it in Napier, the All Blacks were doing us proud, taking out the first test against the Springboks in Christchurch 14-9 that very same day. 🏉
A big thank you to Harcourts Hawke's Bay for their support as a sponsor of the Napier Fire Brigade 150th Jubilee. Partners like you help us keep this history alive for the community. 🙏
Film kindly supplied by the Wilton family
