Concerns are mounting as Auckland’s only remaining high-reach aerial appliance is out of service due to a steering fault, leaving the nearest back-up option more than two hours away.
New Zealand Professional Firefighters Union (NZPFU) vice-president Martin Campbell said it was putting firefighters’ lives at risk “unnecessarily”.
“Firefighters are going to have to change strategies and tactics ... having to go inside and fight fires instead of having the ability to fight fires from outside and from above burning buildings.”
Fire and Emergency New Zealand’s Deputy Chief Executive for Organisational Strategy and Capability Development, Sarah Sinclair, said it was confident it had adequate resources needed if a fire were to break out.
The aerial truck that was kept in Parnell experienced a fault today, which was being investigated, she said.
“Across the Auckland, Waitemata and Counties Manukau regions, there are 134 fire trucks which we operate as a network of resources that can be called on,” Sinclair said.
“All our standard urban fire trucks have ladders, which can be used for rescues, not just the trucks called aerial trucks.”
Campbell claimed Fire and Emergency NZ would be forced to scramble if a significant emergency were to strike Auckland, such as the New World fire in June.
“FENZ are having to scramble for a contingency, which is possibly having to bring a fire truck from Wellington all the way up to Auckland, to replace the one that has broken down today,” Campbell said.
Until that happens, Aucklanders who are living in buildings over three storeys are at “great risk” because Fire and Emergency has no way to get to those people in the event of an emergency, he said.
“They’re scrambling now, even if it left tonight, it probably wouldn’t get here until the wee hours of the morning.”
Campbell said he wasn’t sure that would be a feasible option because he understood one of the trucks in Wellington had also broken down.
“They won’t want to leave Wellington with nothing. So potentially Auckland might end up with nothing for a while.”
Currently, the closest back-up option is a “very old” 27-year-old, 25m aerial truck located in Hamilton.
The trucks in Auckland and Wellington have 30m reach capability.
“It’s going to be at least two hours until it arrives. So realistically, by the time it arrives, the possibility of it being of any benefit is negligible, as was shown when the New World burnt down in Victoria St,” Campbell said.
In the major Auckland supermarket blaze in June, Fire and Emergency NZ had to call up an aerial truck from Hamilton to fight the fire.
The truck down south had to be put back together hurriedly, as it was going through a rebuild when the blaze broke out, before it travelled 100km to Auckland to help crews battle the fire at the New World on College Hill.
Campbell said he had concerns with the state of Fire and Emergency’s fleet, the lack of planning, and the lack of foresight from the organisation.
“The constant scrambling that firefighters and our mechanics and service providers are having to do to keep old, outdated and broken-down fire trucks [running].
“I think the public needs to be very concerned about the leadership of the Fire and Emergency organisation.
“Where does the levy money actually go to? Where is it getting spent? Because it doesn’t seem to be spent on frontline operations,” Campbell said.
Sinclair said Fire and Emergency NZ had 1300 trucks nationwide, 29 of which were aerials, which allowed it to move trucks as needed.
“Although we have other aerial trucks available in Auckland, another aerial truck will be sent to Auckland overnight,” Sinclair said.
In the meantime, officers are trained to be agile using the resources available to respond to multiple incidents simultaneously.
She said the fleet of trucks was well-maintained, safe, certified, and legally compliant.
“Our fleet is ageing, and we are implementing a long-term investment plan to replace trucks, as well as investing in maintenance and repairs,” Sinclair said.
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