REMEMBER THE DEAD AND FIGHT LIKE HELL FOR THE LIVING
April 28th is Workers' Memorial Day where we remember and honour workers killed, injured, or suffering with illness as a result of their work or workplaces.
Deaths and work-related injury and illnesses should be declining with the requirement to take all practicable measures to provide a safe workplace or mitigate the risks.
But sadly for our members, that is not the case.
For the NZPFU it is a day to reflect on all those that have suffered work injury and illness, including mental health issues, due to their service to the community.
It is appalling that in 2026 we are still fighting to have basic health standards in the workplace properly addressed.
- The job of a firefighter is inherently dangerous – but for NZPFU members it is more dangerous now due to poor management decisions that have seen career firefighter numbers stagnant for decades despite the increases in population, industry and risks over that period. FENZ has failed to act to replace the failing fleet that includes appliances that can be 10 years over their expected life. We have firefighters responding on trucks that are older than them, that are unreliable and break down before, during or on the way to incidents. We have fire appliances responding under-crewed, or appliances and fire stations off-line due to staffing shortages. Any delay or shortage of firefighters on the incident ground escalates the risk to the public, the property and the firefighters. FENZ has doubled its funding since 2017 and more than doubled its management and non-operational staff but volunteer and career firefighter numbers have largely stayed the same.
- It is internationally accepted through a plethora of robust research that firefighters have a high risk of contraction of specific cancers. Governments and employers in Australia, Canada and the USA have protected firefighters by ensuring they access health care and compensation as they would for any other work-related illness and injury but New Zealand firefighters have to fight for ACC cover. The NZPFU funds legal assistance and wins almost every case rejected but this is a costly and time-consuming process that can delay treatment and is detrimental to the health and wellbeing of those diagnosed when their energy should be spent on recovery or spending precious time with their loved ones. The NZPFU has seen an increase in the number of members diagnosed with occupational cancer including the worrying trend of firefighters in their early 40s being diagnosed with prostate cancer and Parkinson's disease.
- Firefighters are exposed to asbestos while responding, But in Auckland firefighters are exposed in their workplace, and possibly are even inhaling it through their breathing apparatus. It is only due to our membership fighting back that basic measures have been put in place to minimise the risk of ongoing exposure in Auckland City station. Testing that has been verified by experts has demonstrated that the Auckland City Station ceiling is riddled with brown asbestos. Areas of the city station were sealed with supposed strict protocols in place to prevent access and ongoing exposure. But last year, FENZ even breached those measures to have contractors access a floor that had been sealed off without warning. The reason – to paint it in case that floor is to be used in the future! The only way in which FENZ can meet the health and safety requirements to re-use this area is to totally remove and remediate the area of asbestos.
- Testing of the Breathing Apparatus filling processes at Auckland Station has demonstrated there is a risk that asbestos may be in firefighters’ personal breathing apparatus tanks if those tanks were filled in 2023 or prior. FENZ selected a sample of tanks to be tested but those tanks cannot be found and FENZ have not taken any further steps to ensure that breathing apparatus sets in use do not have asbestos contamination.
- Fire Investigators are expected to be exposed to the hazards of the incident ground without the necessary protective uniform and equipment and in some cases with limited training. The lack of protection will increase the risk of contracting occupational disease from exposure to toxic smoke and off-gassing. The lack of sufficient qualified and experienced fire investigators means they are repeatedly subjected to fire deaths which have reportedly risen to the highest level in a decade. This increase in fire deaths raises questions
- Movember-funded research undertaken by independent universities has shown the mental health of NZPFU members is at a critical low level – not just because of the traumatic events they respond to but because of organisational stress. Insufficient staffing (firefighters and 111 emergency dispatchers) puts unnecessary pressure and additional risks on staff. FENZ has known this for years and still refuses to increase the staffing to the necessary level. Firefighters (more than 92%) and dispatchers (more than 80%) reported high exposures to traumatic events. Only 13% of firefighters felt supported by FENZ as an organisation.
Health, safety and wellbeing should be the primary focus of a fire and emergency service.
The statistics tell us otherwise.
In unity,
Wattie Watson
National Secretary
