Fire and Emergency received calls for 13 incidents during today’s strike

17 July 2026

Fire and Emergency New Zealand received calls for 13 incidents between 12 pm and 1pm today, Friday 17 July, the forty-sixth time the New Zealand Professional Firefighters Union (NZPFU) has taken strike action.

Of the 13 incidents, 11 were in areas impacted by the strike.

Six were false alarms. Two were medical events that were attended to by Hato Hone St John, as per contingency planning. Two minor incidents occurred one of which was responded to after industrial action. One was a small scrub fire which was also responded to by paid staff after industrial action had concluded.

 “Fire and Emergency remains committed to achieving a fair and sustainable settlement so we can continue working to keep communities safe,” Assistant National Commander Bruce Stubbs says.

 “Fire and Emergency’s most recent offer compares favourably with other public sector settlements and would deliver a 6.2 percent pay increase by November 2027, at a cost of $32.7 million through to July 2028.

 “By comparison, the NZPFU’s settlement proposal came to approximately $120 million over the same period. That is not financially realistic at a time where we are reducing staffing levels in other areas of the organisation and when we also have to keep investing in the trucks and equipment our people need to do their jobs safely.

 “We continue to call on the NZPFU to call off these reckless strikes while we remain in discussions to progress negotiations. It is irresponsible to put the community at risk while we work to resolve this dispute.

 “We acknowledge and appreciate the dedication of the volunteers, Operational Commanders and Communication Centre Managers who manage the strike responses.

 “We remind the public that emergency responses will be delayed when strike action takes place,” Bruce Stubbs says.