Fenz finds it has work to do on tackling weather crises
Fire and Emergency New Zealand (Fenz) has work to do on how to deal with severe weather events, says national commander Russell Wood.
He was responding to an internal operational review of Fenz’s response to last year’s Auckland Anniversary Weekend floods and Cyclone Gabrielle that claimed the lives of two volunteer firefighters.
Craig Stevens and Dave van Zwanenberg died in a landslide in the West Auckland coastal community of Muriwai on February 13.
The review, released today, found firefighters rescued countless people while managing other obligations during the two events, but there is room for improving its approach.
It said: “The Auckland floods and Cyclone Gabrielle have shown us that climate change will likely increase the incidence and consequence of extreme weather events.”
At the peak of the Auckland floods on January 27 between 4pm and 9pm, Fenz received 650 calls via the 111 service over one 30-minute period.
“We had to prioritise attending incidents where lives were threatened, or elderly or unwell people required rescue.
“I am proud of how all our people responded and supported communities, especially given many were personally impacted in some way.
“We have heard so many stories of how our people acted with the highest levels of skill, ingenuity and empathy, in the most trying circumstances,” said Wood.
“In the case of Cyclone Gabrielle, this was the first time our organisation had to deal with such a widespread and severe weather event across so many districts and regions at the same time.
“Lives were lost, including two of our own. Our sympathy remains with the whānau, friends and communities of those who passed,” Wood said.
He said severe weather response was a new and evolving capability for Fenz and was not a legislated main function.
Fenz was an organisation expert in fighting fires, providing specialist responses such as Urban Search and Rescue, and helping in other emergencies when the call is made.
“We have not, until recently, been required to play such a major part in responding to such severe weather events,” said Wood.
“We are committed to making the improvements identified in this operational review so we can continue being there for New Zealanders.”
Work that’s been done on responding to weather events includes:
● Six trained specialist water rescue teams across the country with specialist equipment.
● Specially designed personal protective equipment (PPE) for Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) teams appropriate for severe weather and disaster assistance response teams to work in.
● Purchase of personal safety locators and weather-proof tablets loaded with data in real-time for USAR people when working remotely in arduous conditions.
● An e-learning package for landslide awareness and management.
Work that is under way includes:
● Developing e-learning modules to cover motor vehicle crashes in water emergencies, response driving around flood water, wading rescue skill-sets, and officer oversight of water-based incidents.
● Working with partner agencies, through the Landslides National Advisory Group, to map and understand the risk posed by landslides to property and life.
“While many of our frontline people have these skills as individuals, we are now implementing crews of firefighters with all these skills who can then respond to natural disasters or adverse weather events as a team in districts most at risk,” said Wood.
The review also found room for improvement in planning and administration processes that support Fenz staff during severe weather events.
Retired assistant national commander Ian Pickard led the review.
The deaths of Stevens and van Zwanenberg are being investigated separately and were outside the scope of the review.