Fire Service reform

My firefighting days go back 70 years, to the days of steam trains. I view with trepidation the upcoming Fire Service legislation under Internal Affairs Minister Peter Dunne.

It will become a turf war between the two branches of the service, the power of management and who gets the lucrative top jobs.

Actual on-the-ground firefighting will receive scant notice – like the past 30 years.

But one thing remains constant: any fire or smell of smoke on a hot nor’west day is already a state of emergency and perhaps some will learn the lesson.

John McCaskey Waipara