The last of the quake rebuilds - new Kaiapoi Fire Station opens

Nicole Mathewson Reporter from Northern Outlook

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."