Cyclone Gabrielle: Body recovered from landslide is missing Muriwai firefighter

Wednesday, 15 February 2023

Stuff senior journalist Ali Mau gives an update on the aftermath of Cyclone Gabrielle in Muriwai, Auckland.

Fire and Emergency has confirmed the body recovered from a landslide in Muriwai is that of a firefighter missing after Cyclone Gabrielle.

Firefighter Dave van Zwanenberg has been missing since a slip came down on Monday night, toppling houses in Muriwai on Auckland’s west coast.

“It is with great sadness that I confirm that it is our missing firefighter from the Muriwai Volunteer Fire Brigade,” Fire and Emergency chief executive Kerry Gregory said on Wednesday afternoon, but did not name the person.

”My heart goes out to his family and to his friends and colleagues in the brigade. His death is being felt by our Fire and Emergency whānau right across the country.”

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Flags will be flown at half-mast on all fire stations to acknowledge the firefighter’s death.

“Fire and Emergency respects the family’s wishes that we do not confirm the name of our fallen firefighter at this time.”

Muriwai in west Auckland was one of the worst hit areas during Cyclone Gabrielle.

Another firefighter, Craig Stevens, was critically injured in the slip. He remained in a critical but stable condition in hospital.

According to Stevens' LinkedIn profile, he has been a volunteer firefighter for the Muriwai brigade since 2018.

Van Zwanenberg – a vet, pilot and father of two young children – is the missing firefighter.

Fire and Emergency’s national Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) operations manager Craig Monrad said there were 100 USAR experts operating across the country.

Muriwai, in West Auckland was pummelled by Cyclone Gabrielle on Monday night, causing slips and significant damage.

Monrad said the search for the missing firefighter had ceased on Tuesday night when it got dark, but resumed again on Wednesday morning.

Van Zwanenberg is a partner at Kumeū vet clinic Vets North.

Vets North partner Mark Young declined to comment when contacted on Tuesday afternoon, other than to say “we're just devastated”.

A father of two, van Zwanenberg studied in the United Kingdom before moving to New Zealand.

Muriwai resident Eva Mueller says some houses have toppled over.

Eva Mueller, who lives a street over from Motutara Rd, said she was shaken by a loud noise in the night.

“We heard a very big crack and bang sound and of course we didn't know what it was, but obviously it would have been that slip and trees and the house coming down,” she said.

She then got an emergency notification saying she and other residents should go to the local Surf Life Saving Club.

“I walked down there and there [were] lots and lots of people there. Then we heard that several people lost their houses and everything and one fireman was [missing].

“It's just so sad.”

On Wednesday morning, Fire and Emergency’s head of Auckland and Northland response, Ron Devlin, said one of the organisation’s biggest focuses was “the welfare of our people”.

“We need to maintain their ability to respond.”

Delvin said the Muriwai community fire station had been stood down and Fire and Emergency was “wrapping welfare around families”.

“Firefighters there are taking a break and starting to go into a healing space,” he said, adding they were being covered by Titirangi’s fire station.

Deputy national commander Dr Stephanie Rotorangi said the number of calls across the country had been steady overnight.

Rotorangi could not give a figure on how many rescues Fire and Emergency had been involved in, but said the conditions were 'challenging'.

Rotorangi cautioned against “spontaneous volunteering”, and said community efforts to help needed to be properly coordinated with the heads of the disaster response.