Fire and Emergency NZ warns of public risk as 18 calls received during strike

Fire crews dealt with two vegetation fires during today's strike. Photo / RNZ / Samuel Rillstone

By RNZ

Fire and Emergency New Zealand is warning that ongoing strikes are putting the public at risk.

It received 18 calls during today’s strike, and 10 cases were in areas impacted by the industrial action.

Fire crews dealt with two vegetation fires. One was controlled and the other burned out of control, but was stopped within the hour.

Fire and Emergency deputy national commander Megan Stiffler said the continued strike action was unnecessary and dangerous.

She said union threats to escalate to twice-weekly strikes was not bargaining in good faith.

Fire and Emergency expressed similar concern after a fire destroyed a Pakūranga business on January 9 when firefighters a few minutes away were on a notified stopwork for an hour.

Professional Firefighters’ Union national secretary Wattie Watson rejected that criticism at the time, saying Fire and Emergency had presented them with a “long list” of types of incidents the union might call off the strikes for, though the action had strict legal parameters around it, including advance notice.

“Fire and Emergency is attempting to go behind that notice, and any change that we give them would give them an argument that these notices are no longer valid,” she said.

Fire and Emergency and the union have had a long-running dispute over pay and conditions.

- RNZ