Available on the NZPFU website is a Radio Live transcript of an interview with Asst. National Commander Bill Butzbach regarding “Reduced Responses
to Sprinklered Buildings” and the unequivocal guarantee from him that such a policy will not adversely affect the New Zealand public.
Our members, along with Fire Service management, know that this is not the case and it is only a matter of when, not if, there will be greater property loss, injury to firefighters or members of the public because of this backward draconian policy.
The NZPFU continues to encourage members to work on the PDAs of lists of buildings locally which were affected by the autocratic change in NZFS policy where little or no consultation took place with operational firefighters to ensure a proper and adequate response is agreed in each Local to effect safe and efficient firefighting operations on those buildings.
Where such agreement has yet to be reached, members should continue to make up “Sprinkler Investigation Calls” to 1st Alarm Structure Fires whilst en‐route, if the building in question has not had a proper risk assessment completed requiring any changes to previous responses.
A common sense approach to this using operational local knowledge will ensure that we don’t apply the same blanket “head in the sand” mentality as the Fire Service has in many localities.
The Committee also needs to hear about incidents where changes to PDAs have been proposed by members because of the risk (local/operational) after proper Risk Assessments, and rejected by management, and incidents where members have been threatened or have been disciplined because of making up responses to “Sprinkler Investigation Calls”.
The farcical position of management not supplying lists of the affected buildings to some Locals, requiring these to be requested by our members using the Official Information Act, simply underlines there is no real intention as promised by the National Commander for there to be any constructive and consultative approach to this issue, so we need to ensure our own safety first and foremost.
