Fire and Emergency received calls for 14 incidents during today’s strike

29 July 2026

Fire and Emergency New Zealand received calls for 14 incidents between 12 pm and 1pm today, Wednesday 29 July, the forty-nineth time the New Zealand Professional Firefighters Union (NZPFU) has taken strike action.

Of the 14 incidents, 11 were in areas impacted by the strike.

Three were false alarms.

Two were medical events that were attended to by Hato Hone St John & Wellington Free Ambulance, as per contingency planning.

One was a request for patient lift assistance, which was responded to at the conclusion of industrial action.

One was a gas leak, one was a small vehicle fire, and one was a small cooking fire.

One was a report of a cat stuck in a tree.

One was a report of a child struck in a tree who was retrieved by the responding crew.

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

 “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,” Megan Stiffler says.