Tūrangi’s TikTok Fire Brigade scores massive following

Tūrangi’s volunteer firefighters have become instant stars with their funny videos setting TikTok alight.

Tūrangi Volunteer Fire Brigade chief fire officer Peter Hanne and volunteer Tommi Joyce have been creating the TikTok videos with the help of other volunteers.

The most popular so far, with over five million views is a take-off of Cuban-American rapper D J Lazz’s song Move Shake Drop.

Another video is based on a Bentley advertisement. In the original, a model whispers “Bentley” as she shows viewers around various features of the luxury car. In the Tūrangi edition, the firefighters pose in various positions, in full kit, whispering “fire twuk”. It has received 1.1 million views so far.

All up, the various videos have been viewed over 10 million times, with other subjects including a daylight savings smoke alarm reminder and a special video for Māori Language Week Te Wiki o te Reo Māori.

Hanne said he and Joyce do all the filming and editing, using the fire station as the set. Both also have jobs with Fire and Emergency in addition to their volunteer work.

He said it was surprising how long it took to film even a short video clip.

“We are just trying to dabble in this space to see what engagement we can get while having some fun and getting the message across. It is quite a lot of fun for the team.”

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