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:: Media Release - 20 May
2010 |
New rules are risking lives,
firefighters say
Managers intimidate Firefighters
with disciplinary action
New Zealand Fire Service Management are
intimidating operational Firefighters by threatening them with
disciplinary action if they respond more fire appliances to
emergency incidents than that provided for in their recent
nationwide instruction.
Every Officer who increases the response is being
asked by Management after each call to please explain.
The recent Fire Service instruction limits the
number of fire appliances responding to buildings fitted with
sprinkler systems. The NZ Professional Firefighters Union says this
move endangers the people who live, work, sleep in those buildings,
as well as Firefighters. Our members are following the NZPFU’s
advice to respond the numbers of fire appliances that used to
respond prior to 29-4-2010 to ensure these risks are minimised.
It was only a couple a weeks ago that the Minister
of Internal Affairs, Nathan Guy was praising the work Firefighters
do as “Guardians of the Community” now the Fire Service who he is
responsible for want to discipline us for being just that.
The Fire Service proposal is short sighted, lacks
any evidence to back up their claim to reduce responses or evidence
that it causes problems when more fire appliances respond to fire
calls.
This policy can only ever be seen as some sort of
cost cutting measure at the expense of the public.
It’s only a matter of when, not if the
implementation of this policy and the subsequent reduced fire
appliance response will result in greater loss of property,
increased injury or worst case scenario loss of life, the NZPFU
believe Fire Service Management know that. The NZPFU certainly won’t
take any satisfaction from saying “We told you so” when this occurs.
Since the introduction of this new policy
Firefighters concerns have being confirmed by an admission from Fire
Service Management in various locations that a large percentage of
buildings fitted with sprinkler systems have not been “Risk
Assessed” properly as required by this Fire Services policy.
This is proven by numerous numbers of buildings
being identified by Fire Service Management as fully sprinklered,
when in fact they are not. A building identified by Fire Service
policy as fully sprinklered will in many cases receive a reduced
response of fire appliances.
It has come as no surprise to Firefighters that the
Fire Service are now playing catch up and have reversed some of
their earlier cuts, which further proves the cuts were wrong in the
first place.
An example of Firefighters concerns having been
further justified is after a fire in a large Mall complex in
Hamilton the day after the policy came into force where a reduced
response of fire appliances were called for, but increased against
policy by on duty staff, It was only because of that increased
response the fire was dealt with safely and effectively.
It is interesting to now note that full and proper
responses to this complex have been reinstated by the Fire Service,
why has this happened if operational Firefighters are so wrong?
The position the Fire Service are now adopting in
the please explain prior to being disciplined is that somehow the
Fire Service are clearly trying to blame Firefighters for their
inaction and mistakes, it’s bizarre.
Operational Officers along with the NZPFU have
raised concerns with Fire Service Management since this proposal
first raised its head June 2009 without any success.
Management have just blundered on with a flawed or
complete lack of “Risk Assessment” and have not listened to
operational Firefighters who have local knowledge to know what fire
appliance responses is required at particular buildings.
The New Zealand Professional Firefighters Union
calls on the Fire Service to stop intimidating and threatening our
members with disciplinary action, after all they are only
implementing increased fire appliance responses with the safety of
buildings, public and Firefighters alike in mind and to withdraw
this policy until all the affected properties have been assessed and
the level of fire appliance responses is consulted on and agreed
with operational Officers and Firefighters who have to use them
practically at the sharp end.
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