MOTAT Honours Emergency Services

Getting up close and personal with emergency services is most people’s worst nightmare, unless of course it’s during a visit to MOTAT.

This Sunday 17 February the Museum will once again celebrate the brave, skilled and dedicated staff and volunteers of our fire and emergency services with a special MOTAT LIVE day in their honour.

The annual occasion sees the museum come alive to the sound of sirens, police dogs, the crackle of open flames and perhaps even a helicopter blade or two!
MOTAT will host the Fire Service, NZ Police, Burns Society and the Red Cross along with special guests from the Police Dog Squad, Surf Life Saving and Auckland’s Search and Rescue.

Live displays featuring these visiting organisations will provide a thrilling insight into the potential dangers their teams face while working to keep our communities safe.

“This event is a massive collaborative occasion for us here at MOTAT” explains Public Programmes Manager Sarah Somerville.

“Our visiting emergency services have out done themselves again and are promising spectacular displays for visitors. We all live our lives hoping we never need to use any of these emergency services, but we can’t pretend accidents don’t happen, so this MOTAT event is a brilliant way to learn what we need to do in a way that is safe, exciting, hands on and fun!”

Interspersed amongst these real-life emergency services is MOTAT’s own beloved fire and rescue themed collection. The vintage fire engines are firm favourites and they will be out in full force polished to Instagram-worthy perfection.
MOTAT 1 on Great North Road and MOTAT 2 at Meola Road will be buzzing with activities throughout the day, including:

The NZ Fire Service Wendy house – demonstrating to children why they must get down, get low and get out, and meet at a safe meeting place.
Staged road crash accidents showing how emergency service personnel free those ‘trapped’ inside.
CPR demonstrations by First Aid NZ.
The NZ Police dog squad will be out in force with a live demonstration
Burns victim discussions
Fire Truck vehicle rides
MOTAT 2 will be the venue for potential visits by the Eagle Police Helicopter, Westpac Rescue Helicopter and the Sky Works Helicopter
We’ll even set fire to a kitchen just to see how quickly things can go from delicious to disaster!

“This event offers a fantastic way for MOTAT to showcase the past, the present and the future of New Zealand’s fire and emergency services and for the public to engage with those services at a deeper level” says MOTAT’s Chief Executive, Michael Frawley.

“Many of us take these crucial services for granted and as a sign of our respect and gratitude on behalf of the Museum and the Auckland Community we are offering all Emergency Service employees, volunteers and their families’ FREE entry to MOTAT for the months of February and March*”

*T&Cs apply and the full list of organisations MOTAT is reaching out to with this FREE family pass offer is on the MOTAT website:https://www.motat.org.nz/visit/special-offer-during-february-and-march

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