National Headquarters
Fire and Emergency New Zealand
National Headquarters
Spark Central, Level 7
42-52 Willis Street
Wellington Central
Wellington 6011
Phone +64 4 496 3600
18 February 2025
Ref: 16833
Mike Hunua
[FYI request #29817 email] Tēnā koe Mike
Thank you for your request of 20 January 2025, to Fire and Emergency New Zealand, requesting
information relating to Auckland’s Foam Tender. Your request has been considered under the
Official Information Act 1982 (OIA) and our response is below.
1. What is the operational status of Auckland's Foam tender based at Onehunga, is this
appliance currently operational? If so has FENZ made contingency plans for large
petrochemical fires that may require its response in the Auckland area and surrounds?
The Auckland Foam Tender is not currently operational. Fire and Emergency’s contingency
planning includes relocation of the foam trailer Whangarei 1213, to East Coast Bays Station. There
are also arrangements in place with major petroleum and petrochemical facilities that hold foam
stocks to make these available to Fire and Emergency if required.
2. Does FENZ have sufficient stock of class B fire foam available in the Auckland area?
The volume of foam stock reflects the risks of flammable liquid fires in the area. Across our three
Auckland districts, there are 58 appliances which carry Class B foam. Additional foam is held in our
regional service centre at Silverdale to cover the fire scenarios we anticipate may require our
response. In addition, the fuel storage terminal at Wiri holds bulk stocks of foam on site.
3. Does FENZ have a foam tender replacement program?
We do not have a tender replacement programme. We are currently reviewing options for bulk
foam application at large incidents.
4. Has a stock take of foam stock been undertaken for Auckland and/or Nationally?
Fire and Emergency maintains a national inventory of Class B foam stocks. We also have a register
of the Class B foam holdings of all the major petroleum and petrochemical facilities across the
country.
5. In a large-scale petrochemical incident involving fire, how would large amounts of foam be
transported to an incident if a foam tender is not available?
Our National Equipment and Logistics Team would be used to support any large incident requiring
mobilisation of equipment and other resources.
6. Does FENZ have agreements with other agencies for accessing foam for a large fire event?
Fire and Emergency has arrangements with other agencies and facility operators to assist in the
event of a large fire event.
7. Have front-line staff been trained to use petrochemical firefighting foams?
Staff across the three Auckland districts have recently completed practical foam training
supported by online training material. This programme has also been rolled out across the rest of
the country following our transition to fluorine free foam in 2022.
8. Is the foam stored in foam tenders nationally environmentally safe and doesn't contain
"forever chemicals"?
The Auckland foam tender has only ever held fluorine free foam which does not contain “forever
chemicals”. All Fire and Emergency Class B foam has been fluorine free since December 2022. No
foam is totally environmentally safe, and when using any foam (including Class A foam) we take
care to protect waterways and other sensitive environments.
We trust that the information being provided is of assistance. If you require further information,
please email [FENZ request email]
Nāku noa, nā
Aidan Saunders
Manager, Information Requests
