All firefighters including volunteers, career staff and brigades in urban and rural areas will be pulled together into a single national service.

Emergency services are currently at the scene of the crash on Welcome Bay Road, Waitao.

At least one fire has been started by fireworks as New Zealanders celebrate Guy Fawkes today.

A middle-aged man found in flames behind a Birkenhead restaurant was taken to Auckland Hospital in a serious condition last night.

Emergency services were last night called to a North Shore restaurant where a person is believed to have suffered serious burns.

A school boy has had spear removed from his leg after he accidentally shot himself while eeling.

Two people have been airlifted to Waikato Hospital after the vehicle they were travelling in at high-speed rolled.

A family had to flee a burning house in Hamilton this evening.

Police are currently at a house in Otara, guarding the scene, where a young man was seriously injured.

The Auckland Rescue Helicopter was called to Whatipu, in the Waitakere Range on the west coast of Auckland, just before 7pm yesterday.

Canterbury dad says he's still lost for words after the shocking news his son Michael had been hospitalised in a critical condition.

A man is in hospital in a serious condition after a gas bottle explosion. St John ambulance South Island spokesman Ian Henderson said ambulance crews were called to the site at Maddisons Rd in Rolleston at 2.43pm.

Police today said Daniel Aretz, 37, died in the collision between his BMW G650 motorbike and a motorcyclist in a group travelling in the opposite direction.

Michael James Burnby, 44, died in Christchurch Hospital from injuries he suffered in Saturday's smash, police said this afternoon.

Canterbury Police and Canterbury District Health Board are concerned at the emergence of 25B-NBOMe, described as a powerful synthetic hallucinogen.

The Auckland Westpac Rescue Helicopter has been called to transport the victims to hospital.

A fire communications spokesman said all emergency services were in attendance but no one was trapped in any of the vehicles.

A motorcyclist who crashed into a power pole in Upper Hutt today has died. The crash happened on Fergusson Drive, near St Patrick's College, about 2.20pm.

A 50-year-old truck driver crushed by metal beams while unloading his vehicle at a Hamilton factory today is in a serious but stable condition.

Dozens of workers have been evacuated after a chemical spill at Dunedin's Cadbury factory early this afternoon.

The home that a primary school principal built for his family nearly 30 years ago burnt to the ground in a "tragic" blaze.

Police say they were searching for a car involved in a crash near Queenstown this morning because of complaints about erratic driving.

An officer activated their patrol car's flashing lights and siren, but the motorcyclist did not stop and sped away.

Murray Anthony Reid, 75, died after he was struck by a light truck at the intersection of SH2b and Meeanee Quay about 5pm yesterday.

A tourist staying in Hawkes Bay has been killed after he was hit by a truck at a notorious intersection in Napier last night.

Greymouth firefighters had little time to rest at the weekend, fielding nine calls from Friday afternoon until early today.

Swimmers spotted a shark moments after a seven-year-old girl was bitten in shallow waters in north Queensland.

Two men have died after a sudden turn in the weather caused waves to swamp their kayaks, tipping them into the icy cold water in Lake Tekapo this afternoon.

Firefighters have managed to successfully contain a large fire in the Auckland suburb of Glendene.

Team battle blustery winds, snow and ice to save an Australian couple from spending a night in freezing conditions in the central North Island.