Fire and Emergency New Zealand celebrates 30 years of USAR capability
Iain Hoey
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National events mark three decades of USAR
Fire and Emergency New Zealand has marked 30 years since the creation of its Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) capability.
Celebrations took place this week across the organisation’s Northern, Central and Southern USAR bases.
The milestone brought together current and former personnel who have contributed to the development of the programme since its inception in 1995.
The first USAR course in New Zealand was held that year at Linton Army Camp with instruction from a team of trainers from the United States.
Some of the original trainees and instructors attended the anniversary event in Palmerston North.
Programme origins and international partnerships
According to Fire and Emergency New Zealand, the event recognised the contributions of the original programme architect, United States instructors and the New Zealand personnel who completed the first USAR training course.
The collaboration between New Zealand and the United States in 1995 laid the foundation for a specialised national search and rescue capability that has since developed into a key component of Fire and Emergency’s disaster response operations.
The anniversary events were held to acknowledge both the early foundations and the continuing service of the teams that operate across the country.
Expanding role in national and international emergencies
Fire and Emergency National Manager Response Capability Ken Cooper said the USAR teams have been deployed to major domestic and international disasters.
Ken Cooper said: “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 anniversary week also served as an opportunity for the service to reaffirm its role in national emergency preparedness and regional humanitarian support.
Relevance for fire and safety professionals
The 30th anniversary of Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) in New Zealand highlights how structured training and international collaboration have strengthened response capabilities across multiple hazards.
For emergency response managers and training officers, the event demonstrates the long-term impact of sustained investment in technical rescue skills.
For fire and rescue chiefs, it underscores the operational value of maintaining multi-agency partnerships and specialised deployment readiness.
USAR’s history of responding to earthquakes, cyclones and floods also illustrates how integrated response frameworks can adapt to increasing natural hazard risks.
This article was informed by information from the following source: Fire and Emergency New Zealand
