Woodend Volunteer Fire Brigade

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Woodend Volunteer Fire Brigade

Fire and Emergency New Zealand (FENZ) - Woodend provide Fire, Rescue and Emergency Services

The Woodend Volunteer Fire Brigade is located in Woodend, Canterbury, New Zealand and services the town of Woodend, Pegasus and Ravenswood Town with response deployments including Sefton, Waikuku, Waikuku Beach, Woodend Beach & Tuahiwi. Woodend operates as part of Fire & Emergency New Zealand (formerly NZ Fire Service) and has 2 primary response vehicles along with 2 support vehicles. The brigade

was founded in 1960 initially as an auxillary brigade to Rangiora, but became its own brigade in 1995 with the establishment of the Woodend Fire District. Woodend is part of the Canterbury Area (Area 19) of Region 4 under FENZ. Chief Fire Officer (CFO) Lew Grant has stood down as Chief from the 1st January 2023 after 4 years, taking on a Senior Fire Fighter Role. He will continue to be a Member (46 years service to date) as he holds a class 4 license necessary to drive the tanker, and will mentor new Members. Deputy Chief Fire Officer (DCFO) Shayne Robinson has now taken over the role as Chief Fire Officer (CFO) with a new Deputy to be appointed shortly

The brigade has a long history of serving both the local community and wider Canterbury with notable responses to the Christchurch CBD during the February 2011 Earthquakes and the Port Hills Fires in February 2017 along with many others.

10/06/2026

If you’ve pulled your electric blanket out of storage before you settle into a nice toasty bed, make sure to check for hotspots.
If your electric blanket is more than 5 years old or shows any sign of wear, it should be replaced or checked by a registered electrician.
You can test your electric blanket for hotspots by turning it on for 15 minutes and running your hand over the blanket. If you feel any hotspots, your blanket needs replacing.
Some key tips for electric blanket safety:
🔥 Check for hotspots, if you find one, replace your blanket.
🔥 Always roll your electric blanket to store it, don’t fold it.
🔥 Always turn off your electric blanket before you get into bed – never sleep with it on.
🔥 Make sure the cords and controls are not twisted, and the blanket lies flat on the bed.
🔥 Never place heavy objects on the bed while an electric blanket is in use. See less

08/06/2026

🚨🚨Why the siren sounded....Week ending 07/06/26 starting with call #100 for the year
01/06/26 - 1104hours - 🚒WOOD7711 - Tanker Call Rubbish Fire
02/06/26 - 0122hours - 🚒WOOD7711 - Tanker Call to Riverbed Fire
02/06/26 - 1431hours -🚒WOOD777, WOOD 7711 - Shed Fire
05/06/26 - 1215hours -🚒WOOD777, WOOD7711 - Alarm Activation

Three out of four of these calls occurred during daytime weekday hours. Hours that are notoriously difficult for us to man. We need people of the Woodend, Ravenswood, Tuahiwi and Pegasus communities to step up.

Woodend is so close to Christchurch and relatively small commercially therefore many of our residents work elsewhere during the day. This makes finding people that are A) around during the day and B) willing to step up for their community difficult.

🚨If you are someone who works from home in the area, works locally, or a shift worker and....
💪You are willing to step up and get involved with your community
then we would love to hear from you.

You don't have to have any experience - We train you!
Email: [email protected] to find out more

04/06/2026

📸Friday Flashback........1974 Fire Station Shooting

Well, they can't say nothing happens in this small town...
"The Woodend Fire Station suffered damage when shots were fired through the windows on 20th February 1974. The two offenders were eventually caught and appeared before the court on 22 August 1974 charged with this and a number of other offences. A letter from the Criminal Investigation Branch of New Zealand Police said that one offender was sentenced to Detention Centre Training and the other was placed on probation for two years and ordered to do 200 hours community work. One of them was ordered to pay $6.25 restitution to the brigade to cover the damage to the station"*
*Source* When the doors go up - Jo Bailey

03/06/2026

❄️Winter fire safety message time....

🔥Fireplace ash holds heat for up to 5 days and can spark new fires. Always soak it with water in a metal bucket before binning it.

🥶REMEMBER: COOL ASH BEFORE YOU STASH

👍See a fire before it starts

31/05/2026

🚨🚨Why the siren sounded....Week ending 31/05/26
25/05/26 - 1533hours - 🚒WOOD777 - Motor Vehicle Crash
28/05/26 - 2316hours - 🚒WOOD777 - Medical Call - Cardiac Arrest
29/05/26 - 0035hours -🚒WOOD777 - Smoke Alarm Activation
29/05/26 - 1004hours -🚒WOOD7711 - Tanker Call to Amberley
29/05/26 - 1321hours - 🚒WOOD777 - Unattended Fire on Beach
Another mixed bag this week and four of these call were withing a 15 hour period!
Our next call will be call #100 for the year.

28/05/2026

📸Friday Flashback....

🚒Woodend's first Appliance was the 1944 International K4.
In use from December 1960- July 1967
It was retro fitted with a 750 gallon water tank (2800 Litres!)

🚒After that came the V8 For Marmon Herrington (4 Wheel Drive)
In use from July 1967 - December 1977
it was an ex-Airport Crash Tender.

Apparently it took some getting used to drive according to ex member Jack Haworth because of the four or five levers in the middle of the floor, and most of all because it was left hand drive.*

🤯It's crazy to think how much the vehicles have changed over time.
If your liking these little Friday Flashbacks comment below and we will keep them coming.

Source: When the doors go up - Jo Bailey

27/05/2026

Hello.....👋Winter Fire Safety message time again...

🚒That lint in your dryer’s filter? It’s a fire waiting to happen. Remove it before every use to remove the risk.

😀REMEMBER: A CLEAN DRYER AVOIDS FIRE

🔥See a fire before it starts

25/05/2026

🚨🚨Why the siren sounded....Week ending 25/05/26
19/05/26 - 2041hours - 🚒WOOD777 - Fire in the Vicinity
21/05/26 - 0858hours - 🚒WOOD777 - Out of control Burn off
21/05/26 - 1617hours -🚒WOOD777 - Hedge Fire

🚒This week was all Vegetation fires and Burn offs that haven't gone according to plan.
If you are going to light a fire please always check out this page first.... 🔥checkitsalright.nz
👍Follow the steps and advice on this page. It has really great and helpful information.

22/05/2026

Friday Flashback....

🚒Built in 1960, on Main North Road (sitting between what is now the Country House Green Grocer and Three Llamas Cafe) this was the first home of the Woodend Volunteer Fire Brigade (then called the Woodend Fire Party) which was officially formed on the 15th December 1960.

🔥Original Brigade member Ivan Smith believes the first fire attended by the brigade was on Christmas Day 1960 when it was called to assist Kaiapoi Volunteer Brigade at a grass fire at Kaiapoi Gold course.*

🙏Whilst our brigade relies on it's current members to give their time up to turn out for their community, our past is equally important us. The Woodend Volunteer Fire Brigade is built on the back of many people's hard work and sheer determination to serve their community

Stay tuned for more Friday Flashbacks...

*Source: When The Doors Go Up - Jo Bailey 2011

20/05/2026

❄️Winter fire safety message time....

🔥Flammables must be a metre from the heater.

👍That's it

🛑The end.

Address

8 Eders Road
Woodend
7610

Telephone

+6433127794

Website

https://fireandemergency.nz/

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