Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
A wildfire expert says a proposal to axe wildfire specialist roles could lead to underprepared firefighters being sent to tackle blazes.
Staff were told last week of proposed changes designed to slash $50 million from Fire and Emergency's (FENZ) annual costs.
FENZ said the restructure would not include any front line roles, but more than 140 jobs could be cut if the changes go through including six wildfire specialist roles and 45 in its prevention branch.
Former FENZ regional rural manager Richard McNamara, who is currently a Marlborough Civil Defence Controller, told Nine to Noon there was a huge difference between the specialist skills needed for rural and urban firefighting.
"Just talk to some of the rural crews and they'll quickly tell you that it's not all about, as some of our urban colleagues would say, 'putting the wet stuff on the hot stuff', because a structure doesn't walk away."
Wildfires were considered a "complex adaptive system" because of their ability to spread rapidly and adapt to their environment, McNamara said.
"If you looked at the Tongariro fire and the speed at which that accelerated, from some rather small burns to something that encased thousands and thousands of hectares."
Former FENZ regional rural manager Richard McNamara. Photo: Ricky Wilson / STUFF
FENZ needed a plan if it was going to disestablish the roles, as the risk of wildfires was increasing, McNamara said.
"We're getting more and more wildfire conditions, or pre-conditions occurring.
"You only have to look at our cousins in Australia, California and what happens in Europe now almost every year to see that human habitation is increasingly being threatened by wildfires."
FENZ told RNZ it would not comment while proposals were under consultation - which would end on 17 December.
It said it remained committed to consulting with staff about the proposed restructure.
FENZ said in its proposal document some of the suggested changes were to reflect a "broader focus" across both the natural and built environments.
"You need resources, and you need expertise and you need knowledge to deepen that pool. And if you're broadening it, it sounds like you're going into the shallow end of that pool," McNamara said
FENZ needed to be clear to the public about how they were going to deal with the increasing risk of wildfires, he said.
"We need to make sure that when our firefighters turn out to these fires, they're not being exposed to something that they don't understand, or can adequately keep themselves safe," he said.
Firefighters' Union delegate Peter Hallett, who is also a senior advisor for risk reduction at FENZ, told Nine to Noon that prevention and risk reduction roles were incredibly important, and should be considered front line roles.
"It's always been considered an operational forward-facing front-line role, and we interact with the same members of the public, building owners, fire investigations, people at fires.
"Every day we're out there in uniform," Hallett said.
He was concerned the proposed changes could put people who had potentially less expertise in charge of specialists - such as the risk reduction team.
'Last resort'
FENZ chief executive Kerry Gregory Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
FENZ chief executive Kerry Gregory said the proposal was about ensuring it was positioned to deliver a "modern and responsive emergency service".
"The primary focus is to provide a trusted service that keeps New Zealanders safe. Our dedicated team does an amazing job looking after our communities and this proposal is about ensuring we are best positioned to continue doing that," he said.
"I acknowledge this is difficult for the teams and individuals impacted. We are committed to constructively working through their feedback to ensure we get the best outcome."
Subject to consultation, the proposed restructure would impact about 700 roles across the organisation, he said.
FENZ would not comment on any specific proposals until all feedback was considered and decisions were made.
Gregory wrote in the proposal document that the overall changes were not personal.
"I know for some of you, the changes we are proposing may feel personal and disrespectful towards the amazing effort you put in. They are not," he wrote.
"The reality of our rapidly evolving operating environment, the variability of our levy revenue and the need [to] have space to reinvest, reinforces the need for us to make smart, disciplined choices," Gregory said.
FENZ promised no changes to what it responds to, whether that be fires, medical emergencies or flood rescues, but Gregory had also told staff, "we can't keep doing everything for everybody".
"Redundancy will be a last resort," he told staff in an update previously obtained by RNZ.
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