17m ladder comes up short
Invercargill firefighters warn aerial ladder not tall enough for high-rise rescues
The New Zealand Professional Firefighters Union says Invercargill’s tallest ladder is not big enough, at 17 metres tall, to reach the top of new buildings being built in the city.
The Kelvin Hotel is 35m tall, with the under-construction Langlands Hotel predicted to be about the same height.
The union’s Southland secretary, Aaron Ramsey, said Invercargill previously had an aerial appliance with a 30m ladder, but this had been upgraded to a newer model with a 17m ladder in the early 2000s and had not been replaced since.
Invercargill senior firefighter Brent Wilson said ‘‘you’d be lucky’’ to make it halfway up the new Langlands Hotel or HWR Group headquarters in the city’s central business district using the current appliance.
‘‘They’re really only useful as a water curtain between two buildings . . .
‘‘For a rescue, you would struggle to get anyone out of the likes of the Grand Hotel with it, because you park so far away because of radiator heat,’’ he said.
‘‘You don’t need them [30m ladders] often, but when you do need them, you really need them,’’ Wilson said.
Fire Emergency New Zealand (Fenz) was asked if the new builds in the city and the firefighters only having access to an aerial appliance with a 17m ladder was a concern.
A Fenz spokesperson replied that it was rare for an aerial appliance to aid the escape of people from a burning building.
The spokesperson said that in the initial stages, aerial fire appliances aren’t usually used for fighting fires in high-rise buildings where people live.
This is because firefighters use the fire safety measures and equipment inside the building, such as sprinkler systems, internal firefighting water systems, protected access and egress pathways. Aerial fire appliances were primarily used to deliver water from height onto a fire, as an observation platform, to prevent fire
spread to neighbouring buildings, or to provide lighting, the spokesperson said.
The NZPFU and Fenz have been in bargaining for more than a year, with the NZPFU taking industrial action in June to demand better pay, an end to understaffing, greater mental health support and more investment in infrastructure.
Fenz and the NZPFU reengaged in collective bargaining in July, but the union announced that negotiations had broken down and all firefighters would strike for one hour on August 19 and August 26.
Following the strike announcement, Fenz deputy national commander Brendan Nally said Fenz had made a substantial new pay offer that would see the base salaries for all firefighters increase between 8% and 19% over the next two years.
The union said appliances were ageing fast as they were not being replaced, and firefighter numbers in Invercargill had remained stagnant. Fenz district manager Julian Tohiariki said the organisation was confident that the Invercargill fleet was safe and suitable, and the frontline appliances used by career firefighters were aged ‘‘well within guidelines’’ of between 12 and 14 years old.
Invercargill had one type 4 aerial appliance with a 17m ladder.
The next closest 30m ladder was located in Dunedin, although it was ‘‘very rare’’ to have to request it, he said.
Nationally, a project was under way for Fenz to procure four new replacement aerial appliances, with the organisation also looking to review its aerial appliance strategy, Tohiariki said.
There were 54 positions in Invercargill and Kingswell stations, he said, and although this number had not increased in 10 years it was a ‘‘sufficient number for Invercargill’’.