Auckland Response Team NZ-RT5

16/08/2026

🚨 NZ-RT5 – Training, Upskilling & Getting Out in the Community! 🚨

It’s been another busy couple of months for the NZ-RT5 North Shore Response Team, with plenty happening both on the training ground and out in the community. Our team has been keeping our general rescue skills sharp, making sure we’re ready to respond when needed.

🚁 also had an awesome opportunity to complete aircraft safety training with Skywork Helicopters Ltd in Warkworth – learning how to work safely around helicopters and aircraft, boarding and exiting procedures, hazards, and what to expect when flying operationally. And yes… there was some practical flying involved! 🚁 A hair-raising straight-up climb followed by a nose dive certainly gave everyone a very real appreciation of what working around helicopters can involve! 😳😂. Thank you to the team at Skyworks whose professionalism is second to none. Check out the video!!!

🌊 We’re also incredibly pleased to now have a Swift Water Technicians within NZ-RT5. They’ve put in a huge amount of training and hard work to achieve their qualification and strengthen our team’s capability for water-related incidents. Our team was joined by Auckland Response Team - South (NZ-RT23)

🌧️ With storm season always capable of throwing something our way, the team has also been training in Storm Response, including safely tarping damaged roofs and building confidence using the different power tools and equipment we may need during a deployment. Thank you NZ-RT3 for having a few of our new recruits join in with your training.
We’ve also enjoyed spending some time out in the community, showcasing our Command Unit, talking with members of the public about what NZ Response Teams do, and giving people a closer look at some of the equipment and capabilities we have available.

🏃‍♀️🏃 And a few of our hardier team members took on the Step Up Sky Tower Challenge along with NZ-RT3, climbing an incredible 51 flights and 1,103 steps to help raise money for Blood Cancer New Zealand. An awesome effort for a fantastic cause! ❤️

A great mix of training, new qualifications, community engagement and plenty of hands-on learning.
Well done NZ-RT5 – another great step forward in building a capable, confident and deployment-ready team. ❤️🚨

16/06/2026

🌟 International Volunteer Week 🌟

This week we celebrate International Volunteer Week, and we would like to extend a huge THANK YOU to our incredible NZ-RT5 volunteers and all volunteers across New Zealand who dedicate their time, skills, and energy to helping others. Your commitment to supporting communities during their time of need does not go unnoticed. Thank you for the hard mahi you do every day.

We haven't shared much about what our team has been up to over the last couple of months, so here's a quick update on some of the training and development our volunteers have been undertaking:

🚧 **Movement of People**
Our team completed training focused on managing the movement of people and vehicles during large-scale events and emergencies, including establishing and maintaining cordons to keep the public safe.

🐕 **Dealing with Aggressive Animals**
Following an incident where a Civil Defence volunteer was bitten by a dog while assisting flood-affected residents in Otorohanga, our team refreshed their skills in recognising and safely managing volatile animal situations that responders can encounter in the field.

🌊 **Swift Water Response**
Several of our responders have successfully qualified as Swift Water Responders and will continue their training this month to become Swift Water Technicians. Our growing Swift Water Team has proudly earned the nickname **SWRT5** and is building valuable capability to support communities during flooding and water-related emergencies. We can't always get to a river, so why not the local pool to practice some of the more intricate skills.

⛑️ **Medical Training**
After welcoming a large intake of new members in January, most have now completed their First Aid training. Several have gone even further, undertaking the demanding **PHEC (Pre-Hospital Emergency Care)** course to strengthen the team's medical capability.

📋 **Building Stronger Responders**
This month our focus shifts to some of the core skills that help keep our teams safe and effective during deployments, including GSMEAC reporting, hazard identification, and risk analysis.

Every course completed, every skill learned, and every hour volunteered helps strengthen our ability to support Auckland communities when they need us most.

👏 Thank you to every volunteer who gives their time to make a difference. We are incredibly proud of what our team continues to achieve.

04/04/2026

Another busy and rewarding month has gone by for NZ-RT5. There certainly has been a theme this month with the community support and the training that we've been involved in!

👉 Swiftwater Course:
In an effort to increase our capabilities, our team delved more into practicing our rescue techniques in moving water to ensure effective and safe responses.

👉 Far North Deployment:
Another composite team of Auckland Response Teams deployed to the Far North Region to provide support for flood affected communities.

We can't thank the volunteers enough, for providing their time and effort in making sure that we can serve and support our communities in their time of need.

30/03/2026

Our team has now been deployed four times already this year, and we couldn’t be prouder of their ongoing commitment — giving up their own time to support our partner agencies and stand alongside communities when it matters most.

During our recent four-day deployment in Te Tai Tokerau, we worked on the ground with Civil Defence Northland, Fire and Emergency, Whangārei District Council, and Far North District Council. We extend a sincere mihi to all our partner agencies for the warm welcome and strong collaboration throughout.

We were also pleased to work alongside our fellow responders from Auckland Response Team South (NZ-RT23), as well as our on-the-ground Auckland Emergency Management Advisor — always a privilege to operate together as one team.

Deployments like these are demanding, and we are incredibly proud of the professionalism, resilience, and mahi demonstrated by our people.

We remain committed, ready, and prepared to respond whenever and wherever we are needed.

01/03/2026

Happy end of Feb everyone!
Yet another busy month for NZ-RT5!

We were able to help out communities when they needed us the most. We have had more opportunities to keep strengthening our skills and readiness so we can answer the call.

👉 Milford Community Presence:
We have had the honor of showcasing to the public what we, as first responders, can do in case we're called to action in a Civil Emergency.
👉 Helicopter Training:
Our team worked hard to build confidence in working in/around helicopters for those operations where ground vehicles are not an option.
👉 Flood Course:
Simulating some real world scenarios that Auckland has unfortunately experienced in the past, our responders practiced skills that ensured that they can respond effectively including crossing flood waters, pumps and some light swift water rescue.
👉 Waikato Deployment:
A composite team of Auckland RTs were deployed to the Waikato Region to help with the flooding. Some of the community services they were tasked with were:
- Welfare checks
- Debris clearing

Once again, a heartfelt thank you to all of the volunteers at NZ-RT5 and the team at AEM! It's your grit, dedication and passion that keeps the team running in service for the community.

16/02/2026

27/01/2026

🌧️ Response Update – NZ-RT5 🌧️

NZ-RT5 was recently deployed to Whangaruru and the wider Whangārei area alongside NZ-Auckland Response Team - South (NZ-RT23), conducting welfare checks for residents impacted by flooding and slips following the latest severe weather events.

During the deployment, our teams were also able to distribute food parcels to affected households. We were grateful for the support and assistance provided by the Ngātiwai Trust Board throughout this response.

We were privileged to stay at Ōtetao Reti Marae, where we were welcomed with incredible aroha and manaakitanga. The marae whānau made our teams feel like family, and we were deeply honoured to be gifted a taonga by Ōtetao Reti Marae — a gesture we will carry with great respect and gratitude.

Our thoughts are with all communities still recovering across other impacted areas including the Coromandel, Great Barrier Island, Bay of Plenty, and Tairāwhiti. We extend our heartfelt sympathies to the families and whānau who have lost loved ones during these devastating weather events.

Kia kaha — our communities stand together 💛💙

21/01/2026

🚨 Puhoi Deployment 🚨

Last night, the NZ-RT5 North Shore Response Team was deployed to Puhoi to recon the area for surface flooding and to assist with sandbagging at the Puhoi Sports and Community Hall.

A burst of heavy rain between 11:00am and 1:00pm caused the river to swell significantly. Although the rain was easing by the time our team arrived, there were concerns that water levels would not drop quickly enough ahead of the incoming high tide.

Our team carried out a site assessment and successfully sandbagged the Puhoi Sports and Community Hall to help protect this important community asset.

We’re incredibly grateful that we were able to deploy a team at short notice. A huge thank you to everyone involved — an awesome job by the team, and a great example of readiness and teamwork when it matters most.