Fire and Emergency received calls for 22 incidents during today’s strike
9 Kohitātea 2026
Fire and Emergency New Zealand received calls for 22 incidents between 12pm and 1pm today, Friday 9 January, the eighth time the New Zealand Professional Firefighters Union (NZPFU) has taken strike action.
Of these, 12 incidents were in areas impacted by the strike.
Of these five were fire alarms that did not result in a fire. There were three notifications of fire by members of the public that did not result in a fire and one request from police for assistance which did not require our attendance.
One was a small shed fire that was extinguished by the owner, before volunteer crews arrived to ensure the fire was out. We were also notified of a burn pile that was being safely managed by the landowner.
There was also a significant fire in a commercial premises in Pakuranga. Fire and Emergency were first notified of the fire around 12.07pm.
Deputy National Commander Megan Stiffler says, due to the location, it took 30 minutes for the nearest volunteer crews to travel to the incident.
"The nearest paid firefighter station is Mount Wellington. Following the one-hour strike they arrived on scene within four minutes.
"This is exactly why we have repeatedly asked the NZPFU to call off these strikes while we are in the process of facilitation with the Employment Relations Authority.
"As a career firefighter I am appalled to see the NZPFU use someone’s tragedy as a punch line.
"We have previously sought to establish a process to which we can call on paid firefighters for more serious incidents and the NZPFU has rebuffed us.
"The NZPFU is the one gambling with the public’s safety.
"I want to thank our 11,800 volunteers across the country, and their employers, for supporting them to respond over today’s strike hour," she says.
"I would also like to thank our Operational Commanders and Communication Centre Managers, who contributed to the response.
"We again urge the NZPFU to call off planned one-hour strikes at 12pm on 16 and 23 January."