Fire and Emergency NZ launched

New Zealand’s disparate firefighting agencies have been merged into one national body, called Fire and Emergency New Zealand (FENZ).

“This once-in-a-generation opportunity, bringing together the fire functions of 40 organisations and more than 600 individual brigades into a single integrated service, is ambitious, bold and necessary,” said Internal Affairs Minister Peter Dunne at a launch event on Saturday in Ashburton.

“It will allow us to address the changing needs of our communities and the expanding demands on our emergency service personnel,” said Dunne.

New Zealand’s 14,000 firefighters are not solely focused on fires. They also respond to motor vehicle crashes, medical emergencies, hazardous materials spillages, storms, floods, earthquakes and a wide range of rescue situations.

“Fire and Emergency New Zealand is being established with one overriding goal — to ensure all our firefighters, urban and rural, career and volunteer, have the tools, support and mandate they need to meet the diverse needs of all our communities,” Dunne said.

“We will take our time to get this right and ensure that the public continue to receive the same high level of service they have come to expect from our outstanding teams of professional and volunteer fire and emergency personnel.”

Image courtesy FENZ.

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