Far North news in brief: Tsunami siren testing; Ambos on strike and fire warning

Northland's six-monthly tsunami siren test will take place at the start of daylight saving on September 29, during Labour Weekend

Tsunami siren test

Northland’s six-monthly tsunami siren test will take place at the start of daylight saving on September 29. The sirens sound twice: at 10am for 10 minutes, and then again at 10.30am for 30 seconds, and will be monitored for any faults. Indoor sirens will be tested at the same time as the outdoor network. The network of more than 200 outdoor tsunami sirens, spanning coastal communities from Te Hapua in the north to Mangawhai in the south and Ruawai in the west, is checked twice a year, coinciding with the start and end of daylight saving.

Police station fire

Police are investigating how the front door of Kaikohe Police Station was damaged by fire last week. Relieving Far North area commander Inspector Justin Rogers said the fire, which started just after 3am on Thursday, did not cause any injuries or wider damage and the station continued its normal operations. Anyone with information can update police online or call 105, using reference number 240912/1072.

Ambulance strike

About 1100 First Union ambulance officers have voted for a second national withdrawal of labour at Hato Hone St John, on September 27 and 30 for the first six hours of their shifts. The strike action was set to start at 4am on both dates and continue for 24 hours. Ambulance officers voted to reject ratification of a pay offer from St John for 17 months, which included minimal pay increases below the rate of inflation and failed to address parity concerns.

Fire warning

After battling three vegetation fires on Wednesday, Fire and Emergency NZ staff are urging residents to take care and follow the rules with outdoor fires. One fire began about 1.20pm at Kaingaroa in the Far North. Three fire trucks were on site for nearly 50 minutes attending the burn of pampas grass. About 3pm, staff from six stations attended a blaze that started as a controlled burn-off and spread over 1.2 hectares at Kohukohu in the Far North. Crews were still there extinguishing it several hours later. The third fire took place at Matakohe, in Kaipara district.

Alcohol sale breach

Far North District Council licensing inspectors are working with an alcohol store owner whose business was caught selling alcohol to a minor during a police-controlled purchase operation in Hokianga last month. Police and National Public Health Service (Northern Region) were disappointed following the controlled operation, in which . The operation involved underage volunteers, aged 17-year-old volunteers attempted to buy alcohol from licensed premises. in the Hokianga area. Ten premises were tested in the Hokianga area, resulting in one sale. Council group manager for delivery and operations Kevin Johnson said: “The rules are very clear on underage sales. We expect premises to have appropriate systems and procedures in place to prevent sales of alcohol products to minors. Council staff will be working with this outlet to ensure those measures are in place to ensure there is no repeat of sales to minors’'.