Essential firefighting resources travelling from other cities puts lives in danger, a union spokesperson says. Photo: RNZ / Calvin Samuel
Firefighters say the fact a high-rise appliance from Hamilton was called to a risky fire in Auckland shows how precarious resources are.
At least 12 appliances turned out to the 16th-storey fire in the central city near Queen Street on Friday, with roads closed and construction workers evacuated.
The heavy aerial appliance at the scene was the only one available in Auckland, so a back-up appliance was called in from Hamilton, but it hit a road closure on the way and was eventually turned back - both because of the closure and because the fire was under control.
One of Auckland's heavy aerial appliances, which are used to fight fires up high, had been out of action since it failed last month, putting two firefighters in serious danger.
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Professional Firefighters Union northern president Terry Bird said it was not unusual for the city to have specialist appliances 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 appliances 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.
The Wakefield Street skyscraper was evacuated, after the alert was raised about the fire on the 16th floor. Photo: RNZ / Calvin Samuel
Each centre should have the resources it needs to respond to fires quickly, he said. Back-ups from other centres should be only 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 appliance 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 appliance would be back in action.
Fire and Emergency NZ responded that it answered emergency calls about every 40 minutes across the country.
"On this occasion, only one aerial appliance 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."
Fire trucks lined up at the Wakefield Street fire in Auckland. Photo: RNZ/Calvin Samuel
The fire near Queen Street was the latest in a long 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.
- Firefighters' union 'seriously concerned' as firetruck fleet faults continue
- Newtown hostel fire: Firefighters 'pretty cut up' they couldn't rescue more people as second ladder truck unavailable
- Reports detail Fire and Emergency's struggle with ageing truck fleet
FENZ earlier said it had an ongoing replacement programme for appliances, and a process had begun to purchase four new 32-metre heavy aerial trucks and one new 44m aerial truck.
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