Fire and Emergency received calls for 15 incidents during today’s strike

21 August 2026

Fire and Emergency New Zealand received calls for 15 incidents between 12 pm and 1pm today, Friday 21 August, the fifty-sixth time the New Zealand Professional Firefighters Union (NZPFU) has taken strike action.

 Of the 15 incidents, 8 were in areas impacted by the strike. Five were false alarms and one was a minor car accident. One was for a minor incident. One was for a medical call that was responded to by volunteers.

 "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.

 "Fire and Emergency’s most recent offer compares favourably with other public sector settlements and would have delivered a 2.2 percent increase from 1 December 2025 and 2.2 percent from 1 January 2027 over a 24-month term to the end of November 2027. This was at a cost of $50m over four years.

 "By comparison, the NZPFU’s settlement proposal was for more than $130 million over the same period. That is not financially realistic at a time where 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 engaged with the Employment Relations Authority to try and come to a resolution.

 "Most recently the ERA proposed both parties exchange their full revised bargaining positions at the same time, to help assess whether further facilitation is likely to assist. We agreed to this. The NZPFU did not.

"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.