SkyCity fire sparks independent review
Thursday, 21 November 2019
The massive SkyCity convention centre fire has sparked an independent review.
Fire and Emergency NZ (FENZ) announced on Thursday it had commissioned the review into its handling of the central Auckland fire.
It follows the independent review into the Tasman fires.
The blaze erupted on the roof of the unfinished convention centre on October 22 and burned for days, shrouding the city in choking black smoke.
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The response to the fire has been dogged by criticism.
A well-placed firefighting source earlier told Stuff the response was hampered by an aerial fleet of trucks which was 'in tatters' due to years of neglect, a claim FENZ strongly rejected.
Katie Smart, a senior Auckland firefighter who battled the blaze, told Stuff morale was low among crews on the ground amid a sense they should have been able to extinguish it sooner.
FENZ chief executive Rhys Jones said on Thursday his organisation was finalising the terms of the independent review.
'We will be asking the independent reviewers to consider firefighting operations and performance on the ground as well as Fire and Emergency support activities; including the management of the health, safety and wellbeing of staff across the incident ground.'
The review would not touch on the origin or cause of the fire, he said.
'We are aware of the significant public interest in the fire investigation and will release the findings in due course, subject to legal requirements.'
The review team will be led by one or two independent reviewers, appointed by the review sponsor as recommended by the Australasian Fire and Emergency Service Authorities Council (AFAC) with secretarial support from Fire and Emergency NZ.
'We are an organisation that is always looking at where we can improve,' Jones said.