New Zealand Professional Firefighters’ Union secretary Joanne Watson told the Herald that the map provided a “snapshot” of the active jobs at the time, but didn’t include jobs that had already been completed or reflect the dynamic nature of the response that often saw one callout merge into a chain of rescues for others nearby.
Every fire truck and unit in the city responded to emergency callouts on Friday night as firefighters used ropes, ladders and other tools to rescue stranded people from swamped homes and cars.
Firefighters also used jet skis, inflatable rescue craft and kayaks to pluck people to safety as they responded to more than 2000 calls for help.
Find full coverage of the Auckland Floods here.
Watson agreed with the mayor’s call for a review of the response, adding that all staff available in Auckland rushed to help and firefighters did not necessarily need any declaration of an emergency in order to bring in further manpower.
She also noted that while New Zealand is well-versed in responding to weather incidents, the speed and scale of the Auckland flooding was historic.
Fire and Emergency (FENZ) district manager Brad Mosby earlier said there were 2242 111 calls answered by FENZ communications centre staff, which resulted in 2074 calls for assistance during the weather event.
“This was an unprecedented number of calls and we had to prioritise. We had every available career and volunteer crew on the road responding to the most serious events,” he said.
These included:
- 126 rescues of people trapped in cars and houses, or involved in motor vehicle crashes
- 84 priority one incidents (where there was a confirmed threat to people)
- 237 priority two incidents (where there was a possible threat to people)
The rest of the 719 responses comprised private fire alarm activations, structure fires and medical call-outs.
