Firefighters warn of strained resources after Auckland high-rise fire

Essential firefighting resources travelling from other cities puts lives in danger, a union spokesperson says. Photo / RNZ / Calvin Samuel

By Rowan Quinn of RNZ

Firefighters say the fact a high-rise engine from Hamilton was called to a risky fire in Auckland shows how precarious resources are.

At least 12 fire engines turned out to the 16th-storey fire in the central city near Queen St on Friday, with roads closed and construction workers evacuated.

The heavy aerial engine at the scene was the only one available in Auckland, so a back-up engine was called in from Hamilton, but it hit a road closure on the way and was eventually turned back – because of the closure and also that the fire was under control.

One of Auckland’s heavy aerial engines, which are used to fight fires up high, had been out of action since it failed last month, putting two firefighters in serious danger.

Professional Firefighters Union northern president Terry Bird said it was not unusual for the city to have specialist engines out of action.

Friday’s fire was brought under control relatively quickly by crews inside the building, but Bird said if that had not happened two aerial engines would have been needed – and one was at least 90 minutes away in Hamilton.

“The fear is that, if the fire had spread and was potentially impacting other buildings, or if there was fire and embers falling, then you really want to have a large aerial like that on each side... where the fire is,” he said.

Each centre should have the resources it needs to respond to fires quickly, he said. Back-ups from other centres should only be needed for unusual major events, which are likely to run over a long time.

“It is concerning that the reason they have called for an engine from another city is because we don’t already have the resources available to us in the city where the incident is,” he said. “That is not the resourcing of a developed fire service.”

Bird wanted to know when the damaged heavy aerial truck would be back in action.

Fire and Emergency New Zealand said that it answered emergency calls about every 40 minutes across the country.

“On this occasion, only one aerial truck was assessed to be needed, despite others being available,” it said. “Initially, due to the scale of the fire being uncertain, additional specialist fleet was mobilised as a precautionary measure, which is standard practice.

“Hamilton, specifically, was mobilised early, because of the travel distance. However, this mobilisation was cancelled upon further assessment of the incident’s scale and complexity.”

The fire near Queen St was the latest in a string of incidents that have led firefighters and unions to criticise what they say is a dangerous lack of heavy aerial trucks, as well as breakdowns in the existing trucks.

Fire and Emergency earlier said it had an ongoing replacement programme for trucks, and a process had begun to purchase four new 32m heavy aerial trucks and one new 44m aerial truck.

– RNZ