SkyCity convention centre fire: Fire and Emergency 'could not have prevented damage'

Tuesday, 6 October 2020

Firefighters subdue the SkyCity convention centre blaze in October 2019.

Fire and Emergency New Zealand could not have prevented the extensive loss and damage caused to the SkyCity convention centre by a massive blaze last year, an independent review has found.

However, an independent operational review into Fire and Emergency NZ’s (FENZ) handling of the blaze at the International Convention Centre on October 22, 2019, released on Tuesday, made a number of recommendations on how it could improve.

A fire erupted on the roof of the under-construction building, causing widespread disruption in central Auckland. At its peak, about 130 firefighters, 30 trucks and 16 support vehicles attended the blaze, which burned for 10 days.

The SkyCity convention centre fire burned for 10 days in October 2019.

The Australasian Fire and Emergency Service Authorities Council (AFAC) made 11 recommendations, which focus mainly on developing a more structured approach around incident readiness and logistics.

* Fire and Emergency goes under microscope over SkyCity convention centre blaze

Firefighters continue to battle the blaze in the Sky City Convention centre in downtown Auckland.

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These included that FENZ review its strategies to understand and manage high-risk buildings, including those under construction, and provide “clear direction” to communications staff and commanders about the capability of FENZ brigades in the area to respond to “a range of hazards”.

The fire caused extensive damage to the roof of the Sky Convention Centre.

It recommended FENZ ensure any specialist training to equip crews to respond to hazards in their area are provided to them, and that it trains additional aerial appliance operators in the next 12 months.

AFAC also recommended FENZ review its operational doctrine to provide guidance to incident controllers about identifying incidents that are likely to span a long time, and setting up appropriate command facilities in an Emergency Operations Centre to manage major incidents.

It concluded that “given the circumstances they were faced with and resources available” the commanders of this incident could not have prevented the “extensive loss” and damage that occurred.

“Nor do we think that there was any gap in resources or doctrine that can be blamed for the outcome.”

AFAC stated FENZ staff were able to draw on their “expert knowledge of firefighting in the urban environment' to manage the incident “safely and effectively” with the resources available.

Fire and Emergency NZ National Commander Kerry Gregory said the fire was particularly complex and dangerous, and “of a scale rarely experienced in this country”.

Gregory said he wanted to thank the firefighters and support personnel who worked “tirelessly in extreme conditions” to respond to the blaze.

“We are always ready to do better, and we’ll be working with our own people and partners across the emergency sector to implement the review’s recommendations,' he said.

Raewyn Bleakley, FENZ deputy chief executive, said it was committed to using every opportunity to learn more about managing fires better.

'We acknowledge the report and are working to progress its recommendations as part of our overall work programme, Bleakley said.