Change coming for Fire Services

Bringing rural fire into the national organisation should mean access to greater resources for equipment and particularly to better support rural volunteers.

After several formal reviews over two decades the Government have announced that the urban fire service and some 50 odd Rural Fire Authorities are to be amalgamated into one national fire service.

The current separation of rural and urban fire is largely unchanged since the 1940s where the management of fire risk and fire responses within official urban districts are handled by the Fire Service, with the mainly vegetation fires in rural areas dealt with by the relevant Rural Fire Authority (RFA).

Under plans announced by the Minister Peter Dunne, last November, both structural and vegetation fires will be under the control of a united, national fire service.

While it will be a national organisation unlike the currently regionalised rural fire authorities, Mr Dunne has agreed to the establishment of regional advisory committees in response to strong rural feedback.

These groups will be able to pass on information to national decision-makers and influence them in issues that relate to their area.

It is also likely these regional committees will have a role in regional fire planning and permitting to ensure that a local voice is close to the front line.

The new policy will also implement the recommendation of a 2012 review which invests power and responsibility for non-fire emergency response in the fire services.

In practice this is largely happening already especially for volunteer brigades in small towns, responding to vehicle accidents which often make up the majority of their call outs.

However, practice is not backed by a legislative mandate and responses can be variable.

The new legislation will give the new fire service a clear direction to maintain and deploy emergency services beyond just fire.

Farmers will observe changes through this merger. Some will be superficial in terms of different coloured trucks and uniforms but others will be more substantial.

A principle issue identified as of concern in the most recent review is the significant underinvestment in rural fire and bringing rural fire into the national organisation should mean access to greater resources for equipment and particularly to better support rural volunteers.

Federated Farmers will be advising the Department of Internal Affairs that as a transition, rural and urban brigades should be retained with their respective specialties intact, albeit leadership will be under a common structure.

However, it is ultimately possible that specialty brigades will be combined and made responsible for both urban and rural fires.

Mr Dunne is clear there are no plans for reducing staff or volunteer numbers.

Federated Farmers has consistently opposed the amalgamation of fire services on the basis that the skillset and equipment needed for vegetation fires is significantly different to urban structural fires.

We are also concerned that rural voices will be drowned out by the more numerous but less invested urban population.

Our efforts over the next months as new legislation is developed will be focussed on ensuring that those positives of separate fire services are retained in the new structure, and any advantages of amalgamation can be realised.