National Headquarters
Level 12
80 The Terrace
PO Box 2133
Wel ington
New Zealand
Phone +64 4 496 3600
5 March 2021
Alan Thompson
By email: [FYI request #14323 email]
Dear Alan
Information Request – Whakaari/White Island
I refer to your information request dated 17 December 2020 asking for
:
1. As one of the emergency services involved in the response, please advise who was the Lead
Agency that was responsible for the overall management of the incident and assigned and
managed the tasks that Fire and Emergency NZ undertook?
Note: multi-agency responses in NZ are mandated to be managed using the Coordinated
Incident Management System (CIMS) which requires a Lead Agency to be assigned.
2. Please identify what functional roles FENZ personnel were assigned to in the Lead Agency's
Incident Management Team (IMT) that was established to manage the response to the
Whakaari disaster and specifically to the rescue/recovery operations that fol owed the first
day of the incident (the 9th Dec).
3. FENZ’s own Command and Control procedures specify that FENZ wil complete an Incident
Action Plan (IAP) which it then gives to the Lead Agency’s IC to be included in the overall
IAP for the incident (ref Two levels of Planning 2.5.3 and 2.5.4). Please provide copies of
the IAPs that FENZ produced for Whakaari and which were included in the Lead Agency’s
daily IAPs.
4. Please provide copies of the daily Whakaari IAPs that identify the tasks as assigned to FENZ
resources by the Lead Agency’s Incident Management Team (IMT) and as signed off by the
Incident Control er (IC).
On 4 February 2021, we wrote to you advising of an extension to the timeframe for deciding on
your request. That has enabled us to consult with the Coroner, WorkSafe New Zealand, and the
National Emergency Management Agency in relation to your request and information we hold that
is relevant to it.
Your request has been assessed in accordance with the provisions of the Official Information Act
1982. I have provided our response to your queries below.
1. As one of the emergency services involved in the response, please advise who was the Lead
Agency that was responsible for the overal management of the incident and assigned and
managed the tasks that Fire and Emergency NZ undertook?
Under the Coordinated Incident Management System, the Bay of Plenty Civil Defence Emergency
Management Group was the overall lead agency for the incident, while the National Emergency
Management Agency (NEMA) was the lead agency at the national level to coordinate support for
Bay of Plenty.
2. Please identify what functional roles FENZ personnel were assigned to in the Lead Agency's
Incident Management Team (IMT) that was established to manage the response to the
Whakaari disaster and specifically to the rescue/recovery operations that fol owed the first
day of the incident (the 9th Dec).
Fire and Emergency personnel were assigned the following roles within the Incident Management
Team:
• Liaison Officer in the National Coordination Management Centre
• Liaison Officer in Police NHQ
• Liaison Officer in the Emergency Operations Centre
• Uninhabited Aircraft System (UAS) Commander
For completeness, I note that our personnel were also represented on the Scientific Technical
Advisory Committee (STAC).
3. FENZ’s own Command and Control procedures specify that FENZ wil complete an Incident
Action Plan (IAP) which it then gives to the Lead Agency’s IC to be included in the overall
IAP for the incident (ref Two levels of Planning 2.5.3 and 2.5.4). Please provide copies of
the IAPs that FENZ produced for Whakaari and which were included in the Lead Agency’s
daily IAPs.
Fire and Emergency has identified three documents where planning information was provided to
the lead agency. The documents are in the form of a Situation Report (SitRep) and are
enclosed.
Some information has been redacted:
• to protect the privacy of individuals named in the documents; and
• because some information is outside the scope of your request (some of the documents
cover incidents in addition to Whakaari/White Island).
4. Please provide copies of the daily Whakaari IAPs that identify the tasks as assigned to FENZ
resources by the Lead Agency’s Incident Management Team (IMT) and as signed off by the
Incident Control er (IC).
Fire and Emergency has not identified any documents that fit this description. Accordingly, this
part of your request is declined under section 18(e) of the Official information Act 1982:
• that the document al eged to contain the information requested does not exist or, despite
reasonable efforts to locate it, cannot be found.
You have the right to seek an investigation and review by the Ombudsman of this decision.
Information about how to make a complaint is available
at www.ombudsman.parliament.nz or
freephone 0800 802 602.
Yours sincerely
Raewyn Bleakley
Deputy Chief Executive, Office of the Chief Executive
encl
