Keeping up with community growth
Harwood Wilson made this Official Information request to Fire and Emergency New Zealand
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From: Harwood Wilson
Dear Fire and Emergency New Zealand,
Some fire services around the world adjust their resources based on growth, risk or change within their communities and are expected by some to manage their funds with the interests of the public being a priority, I ask how FENZ has adjusted resources to meet demand since it's beginning in 2017.
Specifically I ask:
1. Staff Numbers
Please provide paid employee numbers as at 1 December 2017 AND as at 1 December 2025, list by department in the most detailed way reasonably possible so that it explains NHQ positions against local positions, i.e. Firefighter, Risk Management, Regional Admin, NHQ Admin, Corporate, National Executive etc.
2. Budget
The FENZ Budget has increased dramatically since NZFS, explain how the levy has been spent with the best interests of the public, detail how the increased budget has been spent in comparison to NZFS, what might be best is to provide a report based pre 2017 and now with expenditure / department codes, actual meaningful categories (i.e uniforms, branding, wages, catering), not corporate jargon.
3. Evaluation of resources in communities
Has FENZ in the past 10 years, done any evaluation of community growth, demand and FENZ resources in the following areas': Hibiscus Coast, Hamilton & Selwyn? if so please provide it.
4. Call Numbers
Please provide the total call numbers for each appliance over the last 10 years for the following stations (seperate by year):
Silverdale
Manly
Hamilton
Chartwell
Te Rapa
Lincoln
Rolleston
5. Response Targets
Please provide the percentage of times station areas met the various response targets over the past 10 years for the following stations (separate by year and response target)
Silverdale
Manly
Hamilton
Chartwell
Te Rapa
Lincoln
Rolleston
6. Building Issues
Are there any current recorded issues with buildings not meeting their needs, having faults, or other concerns at the following locations? if so please explain the issues or provide documents to explain AND when work is being done to resolve this:
Silverdale
Manly
Chartwell
Lincoln
Rolleston
7. General
7a. Has FENZ considered the volunteer reliance and workload on Silverdale, Manly, Rolleston and Lincoln? AND are their any plans to further staff these locations with career firefighters?
7b. Has FENZ considered improving resources to growth areas' such as Selwyn, Hamilton and Hibiscus Coast? Rolleston resources have remained the same for many many years, yet their population has exploded 10 fold in 20 years, what is FENZ doing to accommodate that?
7c. Do FENZ have data on the levy received from various towns? if so, how much has been received from the Rolleston Urban area?
Yours faithfully,
Harwood Wilson
From: Official Information Requests
Fire and Emergency New Zealand
Tēnā koe Harwood Wilson
We write to acknowledge receipt of your information request dated 5
January 2026. Our commitment is to provide a response to your request as
soon as possible, and no later than 20 working days after the day it was
received. If we are unable to meet this timeframe, we will inform you
promptly and provide details regarding any extension required. Should
clarification be necessary for your request, we may reach out to you for
additional information.
The information you have requested may contain the names and contact
details of our staff or volunteers. Please let us know whether you require
these names and contact details. We may need to consult our people before
deciding whether we can release this information, and this may take a bit
more time. If we do not hear from you, we will assume that you do not
require their names and contact details.
Please note that over the holiday period there is a three-week period
where the days are not counted as ‘working days’. This applies to Official
Information Act and Privacy Act requests and that period is 25 December
2025 to 15 January 2026, inclusive. That means the maximum time limit for
responding to requests made from 27 November 2025 may run into the new
year. The Ombudsman’s OIA calculator can show you the latest date for a
response: [1]Go to the OIA calculator.
Nāku noa, nā
Information Request Team
[2][IMG][3][IMG][4][IMG][5][IMG][6][IMG][7][IMG]
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From: Official Information Requests
Fire and Emergency New Zealand
Tēnā koe Harwood
We write regarding your request received on 5 January 2026 for information
relating to how Fire and Emergency keeps up with community growth.
We are reaching out because there is one aspect of your request that
requires clarification to allow us to better respond to your question. As
part of question 6 you have asked:
o Are there any current recorded issues with buildings not meeting their
needs, having faults, or other concerns at the following locations? if
so please explain the issues or provide documents to explain AND when
work is being done to resolve this:
Silverdale
Manly
Chartwell
Lincoln
Rolleston
The scope of this request is broad and can reasonably be interpreted in
several ways (for example, it could refer to minor maintenance matters,
improvement or upgrade works, health and safety or compliance issues,
location concerns, or even customer complaints etc.).
In order for us to provide you the information you seek, can you please
clarify what you want to know? To assist, would you consider refining your
request to one or more of the following:
o Any currently unresolved, formally notified building or regulatory
non‑compliance issues
o Any currently unresolved issues subject to enforcement action or
statutory notices
o Any currently unresolved health and safety risks recorded in official
registers
Also, it would also be helpful if you could specify a timeframe. For
example, would issues identified or outstanding within the last six months
satisfy your request.
We look forward to hearing from you, and if you need further clarification
about this email please don’t hesitate to reach out. In the absence of a
reply, we will have to consider your request on its original merits, which
includes considering whether your request requires substantiual collation
and research.
Ngā mihi,
Information Requests Team
[1]Description: Cato Server:WORK IN PROGRESS:FENZ:FENZ_Assets:FENZ
Logos:FENZ logos _Supplied to FENZ:FENZ Logos png:FENZ Logo_CMYK.png
E: [2][FENZ request email]
W: [3]www.fireandemergency.nz
A: Fire and Emergency National Headquarters
Level 7, 42-52 Willis Street, Wellington Central
PO Box 2133, Wellington 6011
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From: Harwood Wilson
Dear Official Information Requests,
I clarify those points for you -
* Are there any current recorded issues with buildings not meeting their
needs, having faults, or other concerns at the following locations? if
so please explain the issues or provide documents to explain AND when
work is being done to resolve this.
Clarification: I requested details on only 5 locations, I don't consider the information for that broad, however I require information on building faults, buildings not fit for purpose and serious safety issues that effect fire fighters ability to do their job or , i.e. Air Con doesn't work on level 2, Meeting Room is too small for brigade, Water leakage or mold.
* Any currently unresolved, formally notified building or regulatory
non‑compliance issues
* Any currently unresolved issues subject to enforcement action or
statutory notices
* Any currently unresolved health and safety risks recorded in official
registers
Clarification: Timeframe within the past 6 months is fine.
I hope this helps and thank you
Yours sincerely,
Harwood Wilson
From: Official Information Requests
Fire and Emergency New Zealand
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Tēnā koe Harwood
Please find attached correspondence from Fire and Emergency New Zealand |
Whakaratonga Iwi.
Ngā mihi,
Information Requests Team
[1]Description: Cato Server:WORK IN PROGRESS:FENZ:FENZ_Assets:FENZ
Logos:FENZ logos _Supplied to FENZ:FENZ Logos png:FENZ Logo_CMYK.png
E: [2][FENZ request email]
W: [3]www.fireandemergency.nz
A: Fire and Emergency National Headquarters
Level 7, 42-52 Willis Street, Wellington Central
PO Box 2133, Wellington 6011
[4][IMG][5][IMG][6][IMG][7][IMG][8][IMG][9][IMG]
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From: Harwood Wilson
Dear Official Information Requests,
Thanks for the response to date,
However:
1. You have omitted the response target data for Hamilton and Te Rapa.
2. I am not satisfied that the annual report demonstrates at all how funds are spent with the "best interests of the public" at mind, you should able to indicate percentage of funds spent over years with the transition in mind, i.e.
2016 we spent xx% on NHQ, 2025 we spent xx% on NHQ,
2016 we spent xx% on Gifts, 2025 we spent xx% on Gifts,
2016 we spent xx% on Region Costs, 2025 we spent xx% on Region Costs,
The information I requested is NOT publicly available, Please provide this information regardless of if the organisational difference as I requested, this is a reasonable information request.
Yours sincerely,
Harwood Wilson
From: Official Information Requests
Fire and Emergency New Zealand
Tēnā koe Harwood
Thank you for your email of 11 February 2026.
You are correct that the original response did not include the response
target data for Hamilton and Te Rapa. Please find attached an amended
Appendix Two which now includes this information. We apologise for the
oversight and any confusion it may have caused.
We have noted your comments regarding the response to question 2. We will
consider these and respond within the statutory timeframes set out in our
letter of 11 February 2026.
Please let us know if you require any further clarification in the
meantime.
Ngā mihi,
Information Requests Team
[1]Description: Cato Server:WORK IN PROGRESS:FENZ:FENZ_Assets:FENZ
Logos:FENZ logos _Supplied to FENZ:FENZ Logos png:FENZ Logo_CMYK.png
E: [2][FENZ request email]
W: [3]www.fireandemergency.nz
A: Fire and Emergency National Headquarters
Level 7, 42-52 Willis Street, Wellington Central
PO Box 2133, Wellington 6011
show quoted sections
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