Ngāruawāhia volunteer fire station's jet skis assist police with a water rescue during Cyclone Hale in 2023. Photo / Supplied
By Libby Kirkby-McLeod of RNZ
Fire and Emergency New Zealand has grounded all powered watercraft used by local fire stations to rescue people during water emergencies. Two Waikato stations say it will only be a matter of time until this decision costs someone their life.
Ngāruawāhia’s volunteer fire station has operated two jet skis as part of their rescue equipment since 2018. Huntly has had a boat since 1998. These vessels have been used in 81 rescues since 2019, including responding to Cyclone Hale in 2023.
A statement sent to RNZ from both Huntly and Ngāruawāhia brigades sets out how they found out by accident in May that the vessels were no longer allowed to be used by discovering they had been given the status of “K0”.
“This means that the vessel will not be responded in an emergency. Same thing happens when a truck breaks down, it gets moved to “K0” status,” the statement said.
Fire and Emergency deputy national commander Megan Stiffler said it had decided it was unable to do the work necessary to support local stations to use the vessels they have.
“Fire and Emergency does not have the capability to operate powered watercraft safely or in a compliant manner with the Maritime Transport Act 1994 or Health and Safety at Work Act. We also don’t have the capacity to stand up this capability,” she said.
The decision affects all motorised watercraft nationwide owned by brigades, professional and volunteer. However, it said career brigades don’t own motorised watercraft.
A meeting was held on July 30 with Fire and Emergency, fire chiefs from several local Waikato stations, and other local representatives to discuss the issue.
After this meeting the brigades understand police were told not to ask for any Fire and Emergency rescue vessels to attend any emergency water callouts.
Asked about the decision to K0 the water vessels, FEire and Emergency said it was not the most appropriate agency to respond to water emergencies.
“We cannot support the brigades operating their [powered] watercraft because we don’t as an organisation have the capacity or capability to support motorised watercraft being deployed safely,” said Stiffler.
Roy Breeze was the Waikato area commander for 20 years and also attended the meeting on July 30. He said he wanted to understand why Fire and Emergency was stopping watercraft rescues, something he supported when he was commander.
He said he had sympathy for both Fire and Emergency and for the communities that have expectations of their frontline services.
Breeze said local brigades had historically seen needs in their communities which they were able to meet, and Section 12 of the FENZ Act 2017 allowed for stations to do so.
“They all have their own community needs and they just get called to everything that’s an emergency in the area, and that’s life in the front row for them,” he said.
However, the functions allowed for under Section 12 of the act are not funded.
This can include everything from animal rescue, medical emergencies, traffic accidents, severe weather events, and – as in Waikato – swift water rescue.
“Pretty well any other emergency that no one else is doing,” he said.
The way Section 12 had been enacted had put pressure on everyone, and Breeze thought it was time to clarify.
Fire and Emergency is understood to have been asked by Maritime NZ to get a Maritime Transport Operator Plan (MTOP) but it had decided not to pursue this option.
However, Maritime NZ had since said it had suggested an MTOP as an option, and that the decision was up to Fire and Emergency.
“The interactions we have had with Fire and Emergency at national and brigade levels were to outline that there are responsibilities for operating vessels or jet skis such as health and safety obligations,” Maritime NZ said.
However, Huntly and Ngāruawāhia stations decided to ensure their vessels complied with Maritime New Zealand rules, with no cost or impact on Fire and Emergency.
“The Huntly Brigade gathered all the right information for the application of the MTOP plan and submitted the request to Maritime NZ. The process was very thorough but the MTOP plan was issued to the Huntly Brigade. This took a couple of months to go through the process but was very achievable,” the joint brigade statement said.
WaterSafety New Zealand said one in seven river deaths in the country happened in Waikato River.
That is why this year it launched a river-based education programme, starting in Hamilton and Ngāruawāhia.
“I’d be really concerned if we hadn’t thought through the consequences of withdrawing support from an organisation like FENZ. Our response capability is an important part of supporting Kiwis to love and be safe around the water,” said acting chief executive Gavin Walker.
He said the organisation’s message to the public was not to assume a rescue organisation would get there quick enough if something went wrong and to make smart choices around any water.
With summer approaching, the local brigades say the decision is a bad one for their communities.
“It will only be a matter of time before another life is lost in the river. What Huntly and Ngāruawāhia fire brigade rescue vessels offered was a response capablity that met the needs of our community,” the brigades said.
Both towns are in Waikato District, and mayor-elect Askel Bech said as incoming mayor he wanted to understand what was going on.
“I’ve not studied the FENZ decision, but I would certainly be concerned that a really valuable tool has been taken out of the tool kit of those local brigades,” he said.
He noted that the Waikato River is one of the top drowning spots in the country.
“The local fire brigades have identified that risk in their community,” he said, which is why they have invested in the equipment.
Police in Waikato have one watercraft which meant currently it was the only vessel able to respond to emergencies on the river from Bombay to Karāpiro.
Breeze thought maybe it was time Fire and Emergency picked up officially things it already did under Section 12.
“The water rescue, inland, is a possibility that we need to look at. Is this potentially that FENZ should be the financed, legislated organisation to do river rescue?” he said.
In the meantime, he was disappointed that Fire and Emergency had resolved the issue by refusing to allow the watercraft to be used.
“Because the public and the other emergency services are relying on those boats because they have been around for years and years and have done some good work,” he said.
RNZ approached the minister in charge of Fire and Emergency, Brooke van Velden for comment. In a statement, she said it was an operational matter.
“I will raise it in my next meeting with FENZ for further context on their decision-making.”
RNZ also approached Police and Emergency Management Minister Mark Mitchell for comment. In a statement, he also said it was an operational matter.
“Concerns have been raised with me, and I have raised those concerns directly with the chief executive of FENZ,” he said.
Cambridge’s volunteer fire brigade had also been offered two jet skis by the Schick family after $320,000 was donated to local emergency services when Jimmy Schick died earlier this year. However, plans for their purchase are on hold after the Fire and Emergency decision.
-RNZ