The last of the quake rebuilds - new Kaiapoi Fire Station opens
By reporter Carly Gooch:
Kaiapoi has a new fire station, and Fire and Emergency New Zealand (Fenz) in Canterbury has finally entered a new era.
Kaiapoi’s new $8m station, at the Hilton St site of the original, officially opened on Saturday. Its predecessor was built in 1962 and suffered significant damage in the 2010 and 2011 earthquakes.
The station features three appliance bays, operational decontamination, storage and breathing apparatus filling facilities, operations, meeting, and training rooms, as well as a separate kitchen and personal decontamination facilities.
Fire and Emergency Canterbury district manager Dave Stackhouse said the reconstruction programme “ensures that Christchurch and its surrounding areas has a fit-for-purpose network of fire stations able to meet the needs of local communities”.
The Kaiapoi station marks the end of Fenz’s Canterbury rebuild programme. All up, 12 stations including Sumner, Christchurch City, Ilam, Spencerville, Darfield, Spreydon and Kaikoura, had to be rebuilt after the earthquakes.
The Kaiapoi Volunteer Fire Brigade is a medical co-response brigade. It attends about 250 incidents a year including structure and vegetation fires, medical events and motor vehicle crashes.
Stackhouse said the new station ensured the community was provided with the “best possible support”.
“The earthquakes reinforced that our fire stations are more than just bricks and mortar. They support our volunteers to do what they do best - serve their community - and they will always answer the call."
Poll: Are Kiwis allergic to “exuberance”? 🥝
In The Post’s opinion piece on the developments set to open across Aotearoa in 2026, John Coop suggests that, as a nation, we’re “allergic to exuberance.”
We want to know: Are we really allergic to showing our excitement?
Is it time to lean into a more optimistic view of the place we call home? As big projects take shape and new opportunities emerge, perhaps it’s worth asking whether a little more confidence (and enthusiasm!) could do us some good.
-
42% Yes
-
33.3% Maybe?
-
24.7% No
Some Choice News!
Many New Zealand gardens aren’t seeing as many monarch butterflies fluttering around their swan plants and flower beds these days — the hungry Asian paper wasp has been taking its toll.
Thanks to people like Alan Baldick, who’s made it his mission to protect the monarch, his neighbours still get to enjoy these beautiful butterflies in their own backyards.
Thinking about planting something to invite more butterflies, bees, and birds into your garden?
Thanks for your mahi, Alan! We hope this brings a smile!
Neighbourhood Challenge: Who Can Crack This One? ⛓️💥❔
What has a head but no brain?
Do you think you know the answer? Simply 'Like' this post if you know the answer and the big reveal will be posted in the comments at 2pm on the day!
Want to stop seeing these in your newsfeed?
Head here and hover on the Following button on the top right of the page (and it will show Unfollow) and then click it. If it is giving you the option to Follow, then you've successfully unfollowed the Riddles page.
Loading…
