KEY POINTS:
What with the catastrophic conflagration in Victoria and the high to extreme fire danger in many parts of this country, it is hardly a coincidence that my mail this week contained suggestions that all is not well with New Zealand's fire services.
This I didn't want to believe. We have enough to concern us in the sorry state of our police force and armed services without having to worry abut the state of the Fire Service.
But having waded through 40-odd pages of documentation, it seems that, indeed, Internal Affairs Minister Richard Worth had better not take as gospel the briefing paper presented to him by the Fire Service Commission last November. He needs to look more closely at why so many veteran firefighters are worried about a looming breakdown in the standards of service to which the public has become accustomed.
The main concern is the increasing age of the fleet of appliances available to fire brigades and the inability of the Fire Service administration to meet targets in the provision of new machines.
There are some 800 fire appliances in the country. Of these about 330, or 40 per cent, are more than 20 years old. Of those, between 140 and 150 are more than 25 years old, which is the Fire Service's stated limit for vehicles allocated to quiet volunteer brigades. Of even more concern is that of the 184 heavy-duty fire engines stationed in cities and larger towns, 90 to 100 are older than the 20-year limit specified by the Fire Service for such machines.
The cost to replace just the backlog of out-of-date machines is estimated at $145 million to $150 million at today's prices, yet projected capital expenditure for this financial year, as supplied to the minister, is only $60.7 million - and that includes spending on new buildings and renovations as well.
In the briefing paper to Dr Worth, the commission says it needs 30 new appliances every year just to retain the average age of the fleet at today's levels, but neglects to mention that the average age of today's fleet is totally unacceptable and outside the Fire Services' policy parameters.
And as if that's not bad enough, the fact is that Fire Service has never managed to obtain 30 new appliances in any financial year (it is already way behind in this year's acquisitions), and since the turn of the millennium the average age of the fleet has deteriorated markedly.
Which means that in spite of regular maintenance, many of the highly polished red engines we see tearing about are liable to breakdown, parts are hard to get, and down time puts pressure on serviceable units.
Many of the oldest machines are in the hands of brigades of the National Rural Fire Authority, which is rather alarming when you consider that the most extreme fire dangers are generally in rural areas.
There are a couple of other things in the briefing paper which also give cause for concern. One is the fire service levy system which finances the fire services and which, the commission says, needs early ministerial attention.
It is, the commission says, full of inequities with the insured subsidising the uninsured and the underinsured; rural levy payers paying the same as urban payers but receiving little or no service; residential levy payers subsidising commercial and industrial payers; and payments based on property value rather than level of risk and cost of service.
Then there is levy avoidance. The insurance industry, says the briefing, continues to develop more sophisticated ways to minimise liability to pay levies.
"The commission has observed an increasing number of corporates, local government and central government agencies adopting such policy structures," the commission says. "The effect is to increase further the proportion of Fire Service funding borne by the residential sector."
Thus does John Public get screwed, again.
The commission recommends a closer integration of urban and rural fire services, then expresses concern at the state of the volunteer system. There are some 8000 volunteer firefighters, on whom both urban and rural services rely heavily.
The commission says the volunteer workforce is ageing and turnover of new recruits is high. While the volunteer system is not in crisis, initiatives are clearly required to sustain it.
It identifies among the threats to the volunteer ethic a more materialistic, less charitable society; increased recreational opportunities; greater pressure on family life; commercial pressures on employers; and a more mobile population with less attachment to the community.
It suggests as incentives for volunteers relief from Fire Service levies and/or tax breaks for them and their employers, gratuities for set years of service, scholarships to allow further studies, and relief from student debt interest charges.
All of this is most commendable, but not much use if the fire engine won't start when they turn the key.
