‘How can we make our safety messages rhyme?’

The National Community Readiness and Recovery team were faced with a unique challenge when Wellington’s Queensgate shopping centre asked for their help in creating a children’s book.

‘Louie and the everyday heroes’ follows Louie the Lion on his quest to try out various emergency sector roles – featuring Fire and Emergency, Police, Wellington Free Ambulance, and more.

‘Initially, the Queensgate team just wanted to make sure it was OK to use our branding. But we also saw an opportunity to promote current fire safety messaging to the local community’, says Mirren Allan, Senior Advisor Community Readiness and Recovery.

‘It was a first for me, making our fire safety messages rhyme for the book. It’s taken a few versions, but we got there!’

In late July, the Community Readiness and Recovery team, alongside the Avalon Fire Brigade attended Louie’s birthday party at Queensgate to help ‘launch’ the children’s book and spend some time with local whānau (families).

It was a great opportunity to have some face-to-face with the local hapori (community) and have a kōrero (talk) about how to be fire safe at home by having an escape plan and a safe meeting place.

There was such a positive response to the ‘everyday heroes’ that the Queensgate team are looking at hosting Fire and Emergency on a more regular basis rather than annually which was the original idea.

Shout out to Mirren Allan, Senior Advisor Community Readiness and Recovery, Jamie Gray, Advisor Community and Recovery, Tom Ronaldson, Senior Community and Engagement Specialist, Avalon Fire Brigade’s Senior Firefighter Hami Love, Qualified Firefighter Marc Jennings, and Senior Firefighter, Donny Morgan, and the Brand team for their help bringing the book to life for their hapori.

Check out the ‘Louie and the everyday heroes’ children’s book: