The firefighters union is “gravely concerned” because breakdowns in the fire truck fleet continue

There was also a shortage of relief trucks that were used when performing maintenance or repairs on fire trucks.
Photo: LDR/Guardian Ashburton

The firefighters union says it has serious concerns about the deteriorating state of Auckland’s fleet of frontline fire trucks and specialist apparatus, which it believes is putting firefighters and the public at risk.

The New Zealand Professional Firefighters Union (NZPFU) said there had been numerous reports of fire truck breakdowns in recent months.

Union vice president Martin Campbell said Friday night that a fire truck at the Avondale station broke down in the middle of a job, meaning the crew had to stand down until a replacement truck was available.

He said the replacement truck had broken down about four times in the past week.

“When fire trucks break down on the way to calls and on calls, that’s when small fires can turn into big fires and people’s lives can be put at risk,” Campbell said.

He said there was also a shortage of relief trucks, which were used when fire trucks were being serviced or repaired.

There were about seven relief trucks, which were also not in very good condition and there were not enough to support the daily maintenance of the fleet, he said.

“There have been situations where we have completely run out of fire trucks and crews have not had fire trucks to staff,” he said.

Campbell said they sometimes had to borrow trucks from Wellington or volunteer stations, leaving those communities without enough resources.

The union is calling on Fire and Emergency Services (FENZ) to urgently address these issues.

Campbell said while FENZ had a project underway to replace the current fleet, it was not happening fast enough.

He said four new test trucks were brought in last year, but more than six months later, those trucks had yet to be put into use.

“Those test trucks are sitting in the workshops unused at the moment, because they still need some minor changes to make them suitable for use.

“There doesn’t seem to be any real urgency on the part of the organization to retrofit those fire trucks to suitability, get them into frontline service and get them on the road,” he said.

Campbell said those four trucks could be useful as backup trucks during the process of replacing the old fire trucks.

He said that while the union had raised these issues with FENZ, the wheels were turning too slowly to the point of “dysfunction”.

“It’s just talk and talk and talk, and at the end of the day there’s not enough action,” he said.

FENZ regional manager for Auckland and Northland Ron Devlin said FENZ had an appliance replacement program underway.

Devlin said they were also in the process of purchasing four new 32-metre heavy aerial trucks and one new 44-metre aerial truck.

He said there was also a program underway to purchase new Type 3 fire engines, which were the predominant type used by professional firefighters.

“The four Type 3 trucks that were towed will undergo additional modifications before being moved to their new homes,” he said.

Devlin said FENZ maintained its fleet to a high standard and serviced them regularly.

All relief fire trucks were kept in “fully operational status,” he said.

Devlin said FENZ maintained more than 1,280 fire trucks and specialist response vehicles.

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