Fire and Emergency received calls for 16 incidents during today’s strike

16 October 2026

Fire and Emergency New Zealand received calls for 16 incidents between 12 pm and 1pm today, Friday 16 October, the sixty-ninth time the New Zealand Professional Firefighters Union (NZPFU) has taken strike action.

Of the 16 incidents, 10 were in areas impacted by the strike.

Six were false alarms, one was a minor fire out on arrival and three were minor incidents.
Fire and Emergency has called on the NZPFU to call off its twice-weekly strikes while its members are considering a settlement offer.

"There is no point for NZPFU’s leaders to put the public at risk while their members are going through a process of voting on a proposed settlement," National Commander Megan Stiffler says.

The next strike is due to occur on Wednesday (21 October) between 4.30pm and 5.30pm, with further strikes scheduled on subsequent Wednesdays and Fridays.

"We’ve consistently called on the NZPFU to call off these reckless strikes while both sides are engaged in talks. There is even less justification to continue striking while its members are considering an offer."

A version of Fire and Emergency’s most recent offer was first tabled in December 2025, although NZPFU refused to put it to members, costing the average senior firefighter more than $2,600 in missed earnings.

The offer provides for two annual 2.2 percent salary increases, alongside new and increased allowances. When the new and increased allowances are included alongside salary and overtime increases, this will give an average increase in take-home pay of approximately 2.5 percent in the first year.

"This offer compares well to other public sector pay settlements, however, during the most recent bargaining exchange the NZPFU would not table a revised pay proposal or identify what pay outcome it would accept. That made it impossible for the parties to negotiate towards a different pay settlement," Megan Stiffler says.

"Every time Fire and Emergency has shifted its position to bring the parties together, the NZPFU has increased its claim. That has made reaching settlement impossible.

"We’ve participated in independent facilitation through the Employment Relations Authority, which recently asked both parties to put forward their best offer. Fire and Emergency agreed to do so, the NZPFU did not.

“We also offered to discuss independent arbitration to bring the dispute to a conclusion, which the NZPFU declined.

"The public is being warned that response times will be delayed in strike impacted areas as volunteer crews will be responding from the next closest location, although all 111 calls will be received and responded to during the stop work period.

"Fire and Emergency is focused on coming to a sustainable settlement so we can continue working to keep our communities safe.

"We acknowledge and appreciate the dedication of the volunteers and Operational Commanders who responded to these incidents and the Communication Centre Managers who coordinated the responses.”

We also recognise the volunteers and staff across the country who have managed the 69 strike responses to date," Megan Stiffler says.