The Wellington Emergency Response Team are dedicated, trained volunteers who help our communities prepare for, and get through emergencies. We meet weekly for training sessions and are ready for deployment in the event of a disaster. We primarily look after the Wellington region but can be deployed to other regions. With severe weather events becoming more frequent, we are being called to respond to events throughout the country.
Flood Rescue Training Tawa, July 14th, 2025
The training for the evening was safe movement through flood waters. We got into our PPE; waders and a life jacket.
We practiced searching deep water as a team; grouped together and probing the water with wading pole to assess footing. We worked on river crossing techniques.
Accurately throwing throw bags (a rope with a weighted bag on the end) into flood water to rescue someone in deep or fast flowing water.
Flood Response Training Tawa, 7th July
The team was split into two groups and tasked with tackling a simulated flood scenario. The goal? Test and strengthen their skills under pressure in a realistic environment.
The key tasks were: Pump operation – setting up and managing portable pumps. Hose Deployment – running out hose lines swiftly and safely. Sandbagging techniques – strategically placing sandbags. Ring Dyke – constructing a barrier designed to contain and hold water. Water diversion for salvage – directing water flow to minimise damage and support recovery efforts.
This was a great night to refresh our essential flood response tactics and work together under simulated emergency conditions. Teamwork, speed, and precision were key!
Mass Casualty Training, June 30th
We met at our Tawa facility, to train for managing and supporting mass casualties.
It was a hands-on evening, setting up the Casualty Collection Point, running through triage procedure, practicing both primary and secondary surveys of the patient, and working on patient tracking and accurate documentation.
There was a good turnout of team members, and everyone had a role.
Would you like to get involved?
May 19th with WREMO in Wellington
We spent the evening at the Wellington Regional Emergency Management Office for a refresher course on setting up an EAC (Emergency Assistance Centre).
Centres like these will be set up in the city after a significant natural disaster or event.
An EAC (not to be confused with a Community Hub) is set up to facilitate members of the public to access the Government Departments, agencies and companies such as the Department of Social Services, Oranga Tamariki, Insurance Companies, the SPCA and others, immediately after a disaster.
An EAC does not provide accommodation, bedding or food.
The NZRT8 team will work with Civil Defence within an Emergency Assistance Centre, managing large groups of people in an orderly fashion. Enabling members of the public to connect with the right agency quickly while maintaining their privacy.
May 5th with FENZ USAR in Wellington city
As some of the Wellington City Council buildings were being demolished, our teams jumped at the opportunity to conduct local training in the Capital.
We scaled the walls, climbing all over the building and practised many of our skills needed in a genuine emergency response scenario, including using dogs to search for trapped people.
Exercises like this provide a great opportunity for our team to strengthen their relationships and share knowledge and skills with other volunteers from the four Wellington and Hutt based New Zealand Response Teams.
Thank you FENZ USAR for the invite for us to train with you. This was great experience for our crew to learn and strengthen our relationship. We are looking forward to training with you again in the near future.
Do you have a disused building we could use for training? Please…
April 4th with NZRT7, Tawa & Wellington Volunteer Fire Brigades
We met at Waitangi Park, Te Aro (Central Wellington), to train with our friends from NZRT7 (Victoria Rescue). There were two missions – a relay pumping exercise, and a traffic control exercise.
We established water from a hydrant to fill a dam; pumped from this to another dam using Vic Rescue’s portable pump; and from that to yet another dam using a WOSU submersible pump. We extracted water from that to street drainage on the other side of the park. With particular focus on keeping the grass dry, and we were successful!
Really great to be able to train together, learn from each other and continue to build our working relationship. Big thanks to the crew from Wellington and Tawa Volunteer Fire Brigades who ran the traffic control station, and to our Station Training Coordinators and their team for yet another interesting training scenario with many challenges.
Life Flight Open Day March 23rd, Rongotai
This annual event is an opportunity to show case our work and interact with the public.
We have a static display plus some hands-on activities which the children always enjoy.
It was a full programme on the day and included events and displays by Life Flight Air Ambulance, Westpac chopper, Customs Detector dogs, Wellington FENZ, the RNZAF marching band and more.
Operation Caribbean February 3rd, 2025
Operational Support personnel from across Wellington took part in a joint training exercise
There were 2 scenarios; a natural environment fire where Operational Support crews supported specialist natural environment firefighters by providing traffic control, water supply, and first aid when required. Logistical & access issues were an added challenge.
The second scenario was a motor vehicle accident, we assisted Police with traffic management, scene protection, cordons, logistical support, and more.
A special thank you to Wellington FENZ Brown watch crew of the Wellington City Command Unit for their support to help ensure the safety of all exercise participants.
World Volunteer Day 5th December 2024
The whole team at NZRT8 are volunteers.
We are everyday people from all walks of life who give our time to train and be prepared to respond in the event of a disaster in our region.
We all have day jobs and families, but we make ourselves available for training every Monday evening plus we have specialised exercises on a few weekends through the year.
We want to give a shout out to all our dedicated NZRT volunteers around New Zealand, and all our partner agencies that volunteer to help communities in disasters – thanks for all your dedicated work.
If you would like to join the team, click the link below.
Operation Poseidon Oct 4th – 6th, Trentham
What a weekend! Our incredible Wellington team joined Exercise Poseidon from Friday afternoon through to midday Sunday, working tirelessly to sharpen our earthquake and flood response capabilities.
Alongside over 140 volunteers from across the North Island, our team faced both a 36-hour planned exercise and a real M5.7 earthquake.
It was a great reminder of the importance of being prepared and the critical role of Response Teams.
We worked alongside our other NZRT teams across the North Island along with other agencies such as FENZ USAR, NZDF, SPCA, NE.
Sept 21st & 22nd with NZRT7 in Wellington
Great training session with Victoria Rescue Team (NZRT7) at the weekend, as we prepare for the big North Island exercise (4th – 6th October).
Joint session with Wellington Emergency Response Team (NZRT8) this Saturday. Great work from both teams!
Life Flight visit, August 12th
For last night’s session our crew went into Wellington to be taken through the Westpac Life Flight helicopter and fixed wing plane.
This is really worth while for our members to have a good look around, learn about working safely around an aircraft and ask questions on how we can be of assistance at an accident.
A huge thanks to Life Flight Wellington for making this possible, and for all of your life-saving actions every day.
Rescue in the Rubble, Hutt Valley, July 22nd
The team met in the rain at the Whakatikei rocks, near the Hutt River. We practiced the line and hail search technique, methodically covering the rocks and crevices metre by metre.
We located a casualty (one of the team members) and extracted him quickly.
