Fire and Emergency New Zealand is celebrating 30 years since the establishment of its Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) capability.

The milestone is being marked around the country this week at Fire and Emergency’s Northern, Central and Southern USAR bases.

Some of the original trainees, as well as the United States-based trainers, from the first NZ USAR course held in 1995 at Linton Army Camp have been in attendance.

Fire and Emergency National Manager Response Capability Ken Cooper says the USAR capability continues to be a crucial function of the organisation.

"Our USAR team has been deployed to disasters such as the Christchurch earthquake, the Kaikoura earthquake, Cyclone Gabrielle, and overseas assisting at tropical cyclones in Fiji, Tonga, and Vanuatu, floods in the Solomon Islands, and to Papua New Guinea to help with the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Both locally and globally we are seeing an increase in both the frequency and severity of the effects of natural hazards.

"All of these phenomena will see an increasing need for the skills and expertise of our USAR teams."

The celebration this week brings together past and present USAR personnel and partner agencies and acknowledges the significant contributions of foundational and current leaders, particularly the original United States instructors, participants, and the programme architect.

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