Two fire trucks catch alight in one day, firefighters' confidence in fleet low, union says

Wednesday, 18 December 2019

The Professional Firefighters' Union says Fire and Emergency's aging fleet and lack of consistent strategy for the organisation's big ladder trucks is putting lives at risk.

Two fire trucks caught alight in separate incidents in Wellington and Hamilton on Tuesday morning.

New Zealand Professional Firefighters Union said the incidents, one of which involved a 29-year-old truck, reflected poorly on the state of the fleet.

But Fire and Emergency NZ (FENZ) said the fact the blazes happened on the same day was a coincidence.

A close-up of the scorched locker after the small blaze.

The first fire happened at Hamilton Station, where a fire engine caught alight about 2.30am.

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NZ Professional Firefighters Union president Clark Townsley says the flaming trucks do not inspire confidence in the fleet.

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The 24-year-old Spartan turntable ladder appliance in action at the United Movers fire in Takanini early in December after it blew its lights and sirens en route to the blaze.

Auckland Council and Fire and Emergency managers brief media at the scene of the Sky City fire on Friday.

Photos show the blaze appears to have started in the back left locker, but it was extinguished by the station's sprinkler system before it could engulf the truck.

Investigators are probing the cause of the small fire but it was believed to have been sparked by an equipment fault.

A few hours later in Wellington, shortly before noon, a small electrical fire started on a truck from Thorndon Station while it was in the city, and the cab filled with smoke.

The blaze originated underneath the cab and burned along the transmission before creeping up the side of the truck.

Crews managed to put out the fire with dry powder extinguishers before it escalated, while another fire engine responded to help.

NZ Professional Firefighters Union Wellington president Clark Townsley said the 29-year-old relief truck was standing in for a newer engine.

The fact it caught alight reflected the age of the fleet, he said.

'That pumping appliance is only supposed to be in service for 20 years, so these are exceeding the amount of time they're in service by quite some amount.

'There's definitely no fat in the system as far as the relief appliances go.'

Relatively new trucks, made by MAN, have been urgently pulled from service and inspected, in some cases requiring repair, after cracks were discovered in steel support structures.

Townsley said if there were continued problems with the MAN fire engines there was very limited back-up capacity in the fleet.

The incidents were not inspiring much confidence among crews in the state of the fleet, he said.

'They are a little bit disheartened by the state of our appliances at the moment.

'It doesn't induce much confidence in our fleet.

'But we're doing what we can to maintain operational capability, they're still maintaining a professional outlook on things.'

FENZ strategy and capability development deputy chief executive Russell Wood said: 'It is extremely rare for there to be a fire on a fire truck and it is a coincidence that these incidents happened on the same day.'

Concerns about the state of the firefighting fleet came to the fore in the wake of the SkyCity Convention Centre fire in October.

A source said the city's aerial fleet was 'in tatters' and more of the tall trucks could have helped bring the fire under control sooner - a claim strongly rejected by FENZ.

Stuff later revealed Grey Lynn fire station in Auckland was forced to hire a rental truck to cover a salvage tender vehicle with a blown engine.

Days later, FENZ launched an urgent investigation after an ageing aerial fire engine blew its lights and sirens en route to a massive blaze in south Auckland and had to be escorted to the incident along the motorway.