Fire crews dealt with two vegetation fires. Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
Fire and Emergency (FENZ) is warning that ongoing strikes are putting the public at risk.
It received 18 calls during Friday's strike, and 10 cases were in areas impacted by the industrial action.
Fire crews dealt with two vegetation fires. One was controlled and the other burned out of control, but was stopped within the hour.
FENZ deputy national commander Megan Stiffler said the continued strike action was unnecessary and dangerous.
She said union threats to escalate to twice weekly strikes was not bargaining in good faith.
FENZ expressed similiar concern after a fire destroyed a Pakuranga business on 9 January when firefighters a few minutes away were on a notified stopwork for an hour.
Professional Firefighters' Union national secretary Wattie Watson rejected that criticism at the time, saying FENZ had presented them with a "long list" of types of incidents the union might call off the strikes for, though the action had strict legal parameters around it, including advance notice.
"FENZ is attempting to go behind that notice, and any change that we give them would give them an argument that these notices are no longer valid," she said.
FENZ and the union have had a long-running dispute over pay and conditions.
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