Fire and Emergency New Zealand

Fire and Emergency New Zealand

Whakaratonga Iwi – Service to the people
Operational area
Country	New Zealand
Agency overview[1]
Established	1 July 2017 (2017-07-01)
Annual calls	75,142 (2016–17)[2]
Employees	2,815 (2018)
Staffing	1,721 career firefighters 11,600 volunteer firefighters[3]
Fire chief	Rhys Jones (Chief Executive) Paul McGill (National Commander Urban) Kevin O'Connor (National Manager Rural)
Facilities and equipment
Stations	637
Website
Official website

Fire and Emergency New Zealand is New Zealand's main firefighting and emergency services body.

Fire and Emergency was formally established on 1 July 2017, after the New Zealand Fire Service, the National Rural Fire Authority, and 38 rural fire districts and territorial authorities amalgamated to form one new organisation.^[4] It has nationwide responsibility for fire safety, firefighting, hazardous substance incident response, vehicle extrication and urban search and rescue.

History

New Zealand's first volunteer fire brigade was established in Auckland in 1854, with volunteer fire brigades established in Christchurch in 1860, Dunedin in 1861, and in Wellington in 1865. The Municipal Corporation Act 1867 allowed borough councils to establish fire brigades and appoint fire inspectors, starting the first paid fire brigades. The Fire Brigades Act 1906 set up local fire boards, and levied central government, local authorities and insurance companies to cover costs.^[5]

During the summer of 1945/46, a large scrub and forest fire threatened the town of Taupo and blocked the Rotorua–Taupo Road. In response, the Forest and Rural Fires Act 1947 established the modern rural firefighting force.^[6]

On 18 November 1947, Christchurch's Ballantynes department store was gutted by fire, killing 41 employees. The resulting Royal Commission of Inquiry found that the store' evacuation scheme was inadequate, the fire brigade was slow to be informed of the fire, and the firefighters were not properly trained or equipped.^[7] The Commission proposed a national fire service, however this was rejected. The Fire Services Act 1949 instead set up the Fire Service Council to coordinate urban fire brigades, direct firefighter training and distribute equipment. In 1958, the first national training school for firefighters was established. On 29 September 1958, the first 111 emergency telephone service was introduced covering Masterton and Carterton, and was gradually expanded nationwide through the 1960s and 1970s.^[6]

The Fire Service Act 1975 replaced the Fire Service Council with a new Fire Service Commission, and merged local fire boards and urban volunteer fire brigades into a single entity, the New Zealand Fire Service. The Forest and Rural Fires Act 1977 established the National Rural Fire Authority under the New Zealand Fire Service Commission to coordinate the various rural fire authorities.^[6]

Governance

The main legislation governing Fire and Emergency is the Fire and Emergency New Zealand Act 2017,^[4] which replaced the Fire Service Act 1975 and the Forest and Rural Fires Act 1977. In addition to the merger of the New Zealand Fire Service and rural fire authorities, the Fire and Emergency New Zealand Act added explicit authority for expanded functions, including call-outs to road accidents, natural disasters, and medical emergencies.^[4]

Fire and Emergency is a Crown entity, and as so is responsible to the Government via its Board. The Minister for Internal Affairs is the minister responsible for Fire and Emergency.

Roles and functions

Papatoetoe Fire Station appliances line up for a morning photoshoot.

The main functions of Fire and Emergency are those where it has responsibility to respond, and has lead responsibility in a multi-agency emergency. These include:^[8]

• firefighting
• fire safety and prevention
• Hazardous Materials (HAZMAT) – The containment of a hazardous substance and decontamination of an environment or persons affected by a hazardous substance.
• vehicle extrication – Extrication of entrapped persons in the aftermath of a motor vehicle accident
• urban search and rescue (USAR) – Fire and Emergency NZ is the lead agency for New Zealand USAR operations (Civil Defence & Emergency Management Act 2002) They also manage three USAR Task Force level teams, providing communications and resources. Being the lead agency, Fire and Emergency NZ also coordinates the 17 NZ Response Teams which also provide light USAR support. Paid career FENZ firefighters have a baseline level of training in USAR techniques and make up the vast majority of the actual USAR team members.

Fire and Emergency also has a number of additional functions which it may assist in, but not at the compromise of its main functions. These are typically functions where another agency has lead responsibility in a multi-agency emergency. These additional function include:^[9]

• medical first response – Responding to medical emergencies in smaller communities where there is no local ambulance service, as well as in the main centres when an ambulance is unavailable or will be significantly delayed in attending an incident.
• medical co-response – Co-responding with ambulance services to "Code Purple" emergencies (e.g. cardiac and respiratory arrest)
• rescue (high angle line, confined spaces, swift water, etc.) – Rescue from the side of buildings; dangerous terrain (cliff/rock faces, etc.)
• natural disaster response – Addressing the problems caused by heavy rain and high winds (lifted roofing, power lines and trees down onto properties or across roadways, flooding)

Fire and Emergency's jurisdiction covers the majority of New Zealand's land mass. The Department of Conservation and the New Zealand Defence Force are responsible for fire services covering the land under their control. Industry fire brigades provide fire services to certain facilities such as major airports and industrial plants. Fire and Emergency provides mutual assistance to these brigades.

Staffing

Appliances and vehicles

The basic urban appliance in New Zealand are the Pump Tender and the Pump Rescue Tender. The Pump Tender is primarily equipped for fires, while the Pump Rescue Tender is additionally equipped with rescue equipment for motor vehicle accidents and vehicle extrication.

Class	Chassis make and model	Body manufacturer	Number[12]	Image
Type 1 "Light" Pump	Iveco Eurocargo	Fraser Fire & Rescue, Lower Hutt	319
Type 2 "Medium" Pump	Iveco Eurocargo	Fraser Fire & Rescue, Lower Hutt	270
Type 3 "Heavy" Pump	MAN TGM Scania P-series	Fraser Fire & Rescue, Lower Hutt	231
Type 4 "Heavy Aerial" Pump	Scania P-series	Fraser Fire & Rescue, Lower Hutt	18
Type 5 Hydraulic Elevating Platform			5
Type 6 Turntable Ladder			5
Ultralight Pump			25
Rural Medium Appliance			108
Rural Large Appliance			47
Water Tanker (4x2)			77
Water Tanker (6x4)			55
Water Tanker (4x4)			20
Hazmat / Command Unit	DAF LF		18
Command Unit			7
Light Response Vehicle			7
Incident Support Vehicle			7
Hose Layer			5
Foam Tender			3
BA Tender			2
Hazmat Unit			2
Heavy Rescue Unit			1

Notable incidents

Major notable incidents where Fire and Emergency or its predecessors have played a significant role include:

• Port Hills fire, 2017 – on the evening of 13 February 2017, two separate fires, several kilometres apart, started on the Port Hills near Christchurch. The two fires merged on 15 February and by the time the fire was brought under control on 19 February, it had burned over 2000 hectares of land and destroyed 11 houses. One helicopter crashed while helping to fight the fires, causing the death of the pilot.
• Southdown Freezing Works fire, 2008 – on 20 December 2008, Auckland firefighters were called out to a reported building fire in the suburb of Southdown. Upon crews arriving, a call was made to transmit a sixth-alarm response. Almost every crew from all over Auckland responded with at least two appliances coming from Rotorua and Hamilton. There was suspected asbestos inside some of the buildings that were alight, causing it to feed the fire. ^[13][14]
• Tamahere coolstore fire, 2008 – on 5 April 2008, Hamilton firefighters were called out to a fire alarm activation at the Icepak Coolstores southeast of the city at Tamahere. While investigating the cause of the alarm the propane-based refrigerant ignited explosively, injuring all eight firefighters and destroying one fire engine. One firefighter later died in hospital of his injuries. The fire was upgraded to a fifth-alarm response, with appliances coming from as far afield as Onehunga and Taupo. A water tender from nearby Hamilton Airport and Fonterra milk tankers were also called in to assist with water supply. Icepak Coolstores and the refrigeration company contracted to maintain the coolstores pleaded guilty to health and safety breaches, and combined were ordered to pay $393,000 in fines and reparation. ^[15]
• ICI Riverview fire, 1984 – on 21 December 1984, a fire broke out at the ICI Riverview chemical warehouse in Mount Wellington, Auckland, killing one person. Thirty-one firefighters suffered ill effects from the toxic fumes given out in the fire.
• Sprott House fire, 1969 – on 26 July 1969, a fire broke out at the Sprott House rest home in Karori, Wellington, killing seven of the 21 residents. As a result, the Fire Safety (Evacuation of Buildings) Regulations 1970 were made, making sprinklers, automatic alarms and evacuation schemes compulsory for institutions housing more than 20 people.^[6]
• Ballantyne's fire, 1947 – on 18 November 1947, a fire broke out at the Ballantyne's department store in central Christchurch, killing 41 people. It remains the deadliest fire in New Zealand.
• Seacliff Lunatic Asylum fire, 1942 – on the evening of 8 December 1942, a fire broke out in Ward 5 at the Seacliff Lunatic Asylum, north of Dunedin, killing 28 of the 39 female patients housed within. A shortage of nursing staff due to World War II, as well as the lack of sprinklers in the ward, contributed to the deaths.

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Firefighting in New Zealand.

• Fire and Emergency New Zealand Act 2017