Volunteer firefighters from Tītahi Bay, Tawa and Newlands were called to a house fire in Aotea, Porirua, during a nationwide strike by professional firefighters on Wednesday 14 October.
Fire and Emergency New Zealand was alerted at around 12.22pm, just 22 minutes after members of the New Zealand Professional Firefighters Union began a one-hour stoppage. The fire was in the roof of a house.
With paid firefighters taking industrial action, volunteers from the three neighbouring brigades responded to the emergency. Professional crews joined them after the strike ended at 1pm.
Fire and Emergency’s official incident register records the call at 12.21pm and identifies Tītahi Bay, Tawa, Newlands, Porirua and Remutaka among the brigades involved. The incident was classified as a structure fire and remained open on the register for nearly three hours, although that does not mean the fire was burning throughout that period.
The extent of the damage to the property has not been made public. Fire and Emergency has also not released details of any injuries or the cause of the fire. No arrival times have been published, so it is not known whether the strike delayed the response to this particular house.
The Aotea fire was one of 10 incidents reported to Fire and Emergency across New Zealand between midday and 1pm on Wednesday. Four were in areas affected by the strike. The other three incidents in those areas involved a false alarm, a vehicle crash and a minor emergency.
Wednesday’s stoppage was the 68th strike in the union’s current campaign. During these one-hour stoppages, Fire and Emergency continues receiving 111 calls, but volunteer crews can be dispatched from stations farther away than the professional crews normally available.
National Commander Megan Stiffler thanked the volunteer firefighters, operational commanders and communications staff who handled Wednesday’s emergencies. Fire and Emergency has warned that response times may be longer in strike-affected areas, although it has not identified any delay in the Aotea response.
The dispute concerns pay and working conditions. Fire and Emergency says it has made a settlement offer and has urged the union to suspend strikes while members consider it. The union says the proposal does not adequately address staffing levels, reliable equipment, safe working arrangements or occupational health monitoring.
Union members are due to vote on the offer at meetings around the country, including a Wellington-area meeting at Paremata Rugby Club in Porirua at 10am on Friday 23 October. The union says members will also consider other ballots, potentially including further industrial action.
Another one-hour firefighters’ strike is scheduled for Friday 16 October, from midday to 1pm. Fire and Emergency advises households to check smoke alarms and escape plans, take care with cooking and, if a fire breaks out, get out, stay out and call 111.