Glenorchy Fire Brigade rural firefighters (from left) Matheus Silva and Will McBeth compete in the Wajax competition held in Dunedin at the Zingari Richmond Football Club on Saturday. On Saturday, rural fire brigades from all over Otago and Southland were at the Zingari Richmond Football Club in Mornington for the annual 2026 Wajax competition. It was the first time the event, in which teams raced to complete challenges, had been held in the city for 17 years. ‘‘We always have quite low women’s team numbers because there’s I think just naturally less women in firefighting — this year we have two women’s teams. A key part of the event was assembling Wajax water pumps — a staple rural firefighting device that applied high pressure to low water volume for maximum efficiency ground-fire suppression.

Source: Otago Daily Times March 22, 2026 17:03 UTC