Dunedin firefighters are worried their luck will run out after having to attend a "complex" commercial fire without their main ladder truck.
Crews of union firefighters from Roslyn, Lookout Point, Willowbank, St Kilda and Dunedin City stations gathered to picket outside the Dunedin City Station on Friday between noon and 1pm.
New Zealand Professional Firefighters Union (NZPFU) Dunedin secretary and Senior Firefighter Mike Taylor said the city’s "front-running aerial appliance" was off the run due to an oil leak at present. In its place was an almost 40-year-old ladder truck that was not fit for purpose.
On Tuesday and Wednesday, firefighters were called to Silverstream Business Park in Dukes Rd North where they found a fire in a roof on one day and a fire in the ducting the next.
SFF Taylor called battling the blazes "complex" due to their size and locations.
It was only down to the hard work of firefighters, with a good helping of "luck", that it did not end in disaster, he said.
"Had the fire gotten away on us we would have needed to put water on it from a high angle ... which we can do on our main truck, but not on this truck here."
Fire and Emergency New Zealand (Fenz) did not respond to questions about the aerial appliance issue.
Fenz and the NZPFU have been locked in bargaining talks for a collective employment agreement for paid firefighters since July 2024.
Fenz released a statement after the strike yesterday saying across New Zealand it was called to 22 incidents during the strike.
None were in Dunedin city.
Fenz deputy national commander Megan Stiffler said the NZPFU was gambling with the public’s safety.
One of the incidents was a significant fire in a commercial premises in Pakuranga, which took volunteers 30 minutes to reach, whereas the nearest professional crew reached it four minutes after the strike ended.
"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," she said.
She urged the NZPFU to call off further strikes.
