Bottles were hurled at Whangamatā firefighters en route to an emergency medical call-out overnight as New Year's partygoers contributed to a "crazy" shift for the town's volunteer fire brigade.
In a Facebook post today, Whangamatā Volunteer Fire Brigade said last night capped off a busy year for its crew.
The brigade attended nine call outs, all being medical-related and mostly to injured or unwell youths.
"Disappointingly one of our appliances was bottled on route to a medical call out and the driver was lucky not be injured, saved only by the driver's side door mirror which took the impact and deflected the bottle," the post said.
It comes as New Year celebrations turned sour in the town after a group of teenagers mounted the roof of a cafe, some tossing bottles in the direction of police officers and the crowd below.
Meanwhile, the brigade finished 2020 with a total of about 120 call outs - similar to previous years, which it says it "somewhat surprising given" the Covid-19 lockdown period where call-outs dropped significantly.
Medical, vegetation fires and assist public call types dominated the year, making up more than 60 per cent of its total calls.
"The Brigade thanks the local community, individuals and other local organisation's for the support it receives throughout the year and looks forward to being of service as always during 2021. Be safe out there."
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