THE BRIGADE

Stokes Valley Volunteer Fire Brigade and the fire district it manages are part of the Arapawa Fire Region of the New Zealand Fire Service.

The brigade was formally established on the 11th April 1940, when its inaugural meeting was held. At the meeting, 12 active members (plus a reserve) were elected, and proposals were put forward for acquiring some basic fire-fighting equipment. To start with, the brigade was limited to a bucket-pump, slashers, and beaters.

Sixty-seven years later, we now have 25 members – comprising of eight Officers (including a Chief and Deputy Chief), five Senior Fire Fighters, eleven Fire Fighters, and one Probationary Fire Fighter. Needless to say, our fire-fighting equipment is now a little more advanced than it was in 1940. We also have two big red fire trucks that are just slightly faster out the door than the modified 1932 Hudson car and trailer used in the brigade's first few years.

LOCATION

Stokes Valley is a suburb of Lower Hutt City, which is located at the bottom of the North Island of New Zealand. The suburb lies approximately 25kms north of the nation's Capital city, Wellington, and 12kms from the centre of Lower Hutt.

Our fire station is located at 374 Stokes Valley Road, which is approximately 3kms from the entrance to Stokes Valley and 1km past the Stokes Valley shops (Scott Court).

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374 Stokes Valley Road
Lower Hutt
New Zealand'|marker='1'|align='center'|key='ABQIAAAAceTwNqS2jw9onKCZwnDV8xSrz69ezGeQnUL25H8qfCNHntaS5hTesHKYyO1U0n0HS7nl0uMMlWraGw'}

RESPONSE

The area our brigade covers as "First Alarm" response (as a priority over any other station) encompasses the entire suburb of Stokes Valley (including Holborn), and the northern most parts of Taita (or Pomare).

Our brigade also responds to all other areas of the Hutt Valley when required, either as First Alarm during multiple incidents, or Second and Third Alarm (and greater) for major fires and other such emergencies. On extremely rare occasions, we are also despatched to emergencies in other parts of the greater Wellington area.

Last year, we responded to 106 emergency calls within the suburb of Stokes Valley, and 64 in other parts of the Hutt Valley.

POPULATION

Stokes Valley Volunteer Fire Brigade serves approximately 12,200 people in its primary turnout area (with 9,200 in the suburb of Stokes Valley itself and another 3,000 in Taita North/Pomare).

The entire Hutt Valley has a population of nearly 140,000. This includes Upper Hutt City to the north, and Lower Hutt City to the south (as well as Petone and Seaview).

Population statistics from the official New Zealand Census of March 2006 are as follows:

Stokes Valley: 9,228
Taita North/Pomare: 3,021
Lower Hutt City: 97,701
Upper Hutt City: 38,415