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353 days ago

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."

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More messages from your neighbours
18 hours ago

Riddle Me This: Can You Out-Smart Yesterday’s Champ?

Riddler from The Neighbourly Riddler

How can the number four be half of five?

Do you think you know the answer to our daily riddle? Don't spoil it for your neighbours! Simply 'Like' this post and we'll post the answer in the comments below at 2pm.

Want to stop seeing riddles 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.

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2 days ago

Poll: Do you think NZ should ban social media for youth?

The Team from Neighbourly.co.nz

The Australian Prime Minister has expressed plans to ban social media use for children.

This would make it illegal for under 16-year-olds to have accounts on platforms including TikTok, Instagram, Facebook and X.
Social media platforms would be tasked with ensuring children have no access (under-age children and their parents wouldn’t be penalised for breaching the age limit)
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Do you think NZ should follow suit? Vote in our poll and share your thoughts below.

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Do you think NZ should ban social media for youth?
  • 84.3% Yes
    84.3% Complete
  • 14.2% No
    14.2% Complete
  • 1.5% Other - I'll share below
    1.5% Complete
1382 votes
1 day ago

What's your favourite recipe for courgettes?

Mei Leng Wong Reporter from NZ Gardener & Get Growing

Kia ora neighbours. If you've got a family recipe for courgettes, we'd love to see it and maybe publish it in our magazine. Send your recipe to mailbox@nzgardener.co.nz, and if we use it in the mag, you will receive a free copy of our January 2025 issue.

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