Hundreds of locals turned up to celebrate the Ngongotaha Volunteer Fire Brigade turning 75 yesterday.

The station also rewarded some of its long-term staff at a prizegiving later in the evening, including volunteer firefighter Paul Osborne, who received a gold star for 25 years in the service.

Ngongotaha volunteer fire service chief Francis Boag said it was a long weekend, "but it was worth it".

The day began with a parade down Ngongotaha Rd to the Ngongotaha Domain, where there were dozens of displays running throughout the day.

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"We had a good flow of people all day, hundreds and hundreds were coming through.

"We had all the displays going, fire safety, St John and coast guards and a whole lot of fire engines from vintage to modern.

"We had our inflatable house which teaches kids how to leave a burning house safely."

He said they also had the armed offenders squad do a mock chase where they had to apprehend an 'offender'.

He said the prIzegiving that followed after was "good fun" and it was "great to see Paul Osborne get his gold star".

"It was a good day, followed by a good night. I couldn't be prouder of our brigade and I'm so glad the rain stayed away," Mr Boag said.

Catherine Kiel went down with her 3-year-old boy, Tai Filipo, to see what all the fuss was about.

"It was lovely. It was good for my son, he really enjoyed seeing the different fire trucks. He keeps talking about it, he tells us all about the different fire safety things he learns at school."

She said his favourite part of the day would have been the helicopter landing.

"It circled around us and landed, he was really excited about that," she said.

Displays included:
- Rural fire display
- Kitchen fire display
- Police display
- Motor vehicle accident display
- Civil Defence display

Join up:
- If you would like to become a volunteer firefighter in Ngongotaha call (07) 357 4085 to find out how.