File pic Photo: RNZ / Cole Eastham-Farrelly
Lower Hutt firefighters say they cannot get to some fires fast enough because a station has been shut down for years.
The Hutt City station that served thousands of households on the western hills and west side of the Hutt river was shut almost four years ago with black mould.
Wellington secretary of the Professional Firefighters' Union Kurt Walsh told Nine to Noon residents were not getting the service they needed.
Recent fires took five minutes drive-time to get to by crews from further away, and while that was an acceptable response time, it could have been just half that, Walsh said.
Fire and Emergency said crews from the shut site were working out of another station, and the Hutt's coverage was supported by other stations.
"We've had fires in Alicetown recently where that was 700 metres from the closed station," Walsh told Nine to Noon on Wednesday.
"Seaview was the first truck to arrive there. I think they got there just over the five-minute drive time - but they should have been there in two, three minutes, less than half the time."
Those were two shop fires.
But at a Petone house fire two weeks ago, where they had to pull a person out from the blaze, they also "should have been there in less than half the time", Walsh said.
Fire and Emergency New Zealand (FENZ) has a goal of getting to most urban fires in eight minutes: Three minutes for the callout to assemble the crew, and five minutes drive time.
Nationwide, fulltime crews (as opposed to volunteer firefighters) got to 77 percent of structure fires within eight minutes last year. This was just below the target of 80 percent. Response times have been lengthening a little since FENZ was set up in 2017.
Same number of crews, firefighters in the region - FENZ
Sarah Sinclair Photo: RNZ / REECE BAKER
When the leaky Hutt station was shut, City crews shifted to Avalon station. It is 5km away and on the other side of the river; so too, Seaview station, on the eastern side and 4km from the shut-down station.
"The Lower Hutt community can be assured Fire and Emergency continues to respond to emergencies in the city with the same number of crews and firefighters," deputy chief executive asset and programme delivery Sarah Sinclair said in a statement today.
Lots of stations had needed upgrade or replacement since 2017, and it had done 32 of them, using a capital budget of $35 million to $40m annually.
These had to be prioritised, Sinclair said.
"The timing of any Hutt City Station project will be subject to the outcomes of this prioritisation process."
The union said other stations had big problems, such as with asbestos at Auckland City, and Tauranga station that had a low earthquake rating.
Auckland City Fire Station was shut earlier this month over another asbestos scare.
Sinclair said the station had an asbestos management plan, and asbestos had been removed or sealed up.
A contract to rebuild Tauranga station was being worked on.
