When the Fire Service re-branded as Fire and Emergency New Zealand, thousands of uniforms needed re-branding. For the last couple of months, Te Anau's Shelley Morgan has been hard at work sewing on new logos for rural Southland's brigades.

When the Fire Service re-branded as Fire and Emergency New Zealand, thousands of uniforms needed re-branding.

For the last couple of months, Te Anau's Shelley Morgan has been hard at work sewing on new logos for rural Southland's brigades. The back offices of Carpets and Drapes Fiordland have recently been piled with hundreds of dress shirts, woollen jerseys, dress uniforms and other items for rural Southland's fire brigades. 

Fire and Emergency New Zealand Southland area manager Julian Tohiariki said the re-brand, which took place two years ago, had required an intensive effort to update stations, appliances, and even uniforms across New Zealand. 

That meant giving uniforms an interim update until a new uniform was rolled out nationwide — effectively it was an effort to make the uniforms more uniform. 

For Ms Morgan, who has also been a volunteer with the Mataura and Manapouri brigades, it's been an effort months in the making. 

On average, each volunteer had about four pieces that needed new patches. While she estimated each new patch was a two-minute job, she said she had thousands of garments from across rural Southland to work through. 

However, it hasn't been a solo effort. Family and staff had also been lending a hand taking off the old New Zealand Fire Service patches. 

She said it had gone very well and she had her sights on getting all the uniforms returned in the coming weeks so volunteers could wear their newly branded gear at Anzac Day services.