It has come to the attention of the Northern Branch Executive that some regions do not intend to have any Volunteer Support Officers on call over the Christmas/New Year period.

The Northern Branch would like to wish the Volunteer Support Officers a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year and also to remind these personnel to ensure their pagers and cell phones are turned off during this period to ensure they can enjoy their time away.

We would like to remind all other staff not to do any work that Volunteer Support Officers would normally do during this period. It is the stance of the Northern Branch that Volunteer Support Officers should have a roster during this time, but the New Zealand Fire Service has decided not to have anybody and this is how they intend to support volunteers over this period.