National Headquarters
Fire and Emergency New Zealand
National Headquarters
Spark Central, Level 7
42-52 Wil is Street
Wel ington Central
Wel ington 6011
Phone +64 4 496 3600
20 February 2026
Ref: 20635
Alan Thompson
[FYI request #33579 email]
Tēnā koe Alan
Thank you for your request of 22 January 2026 to Fire and Emergency New Zealand requesting
information in relation to international deployments to Canada and the United States of America
(USA) under the Official Information Act 1982 (OIA). We copy and respond to each aspect of your
request below.
1. Please advise the role and the deliverables of each of the 10 FTEs in the 2024/25 wildfire
deployments in terms of their support for the deployment in both the period leading up to
the departure of personnel and whilst they were in Canada/USA?
Please find attached, as an
Appendix to this response, a document which outlines the different
roles and responsibilities of the National Coordination Centre (NCC) team. Across the deployments
to Canada and the USA, al of these roles were carried out to a greater or lesser extent dependent
on the timeline of the deployment and the workload required at any given time.
2. Please advise if/how the costs of the 10 FTEs were recovered from the Canada/US host
agencies for the 2024/25 deployment?
The costs for NCC to manage and administer deployments to Canada and the USA were recovered
by invoicing the requesting jurisdiction.
3. Please provide a copy of the debrief or any other form of formal review report that was
undertaken at the conclusion of the 2024/25 deployments to Canda and the USA including
any post deployment review provided to FENZ by the host agency(s).
We identified the following three debrief documents in relation to deployments to Canada and the
USA, all of which were completed by Fire and Emergency:
•
After Action Review, Type 3 - Strategic Debrief – Canada & USA Deployments 2024, dated 8
October 2024.
•
NOTES FROM OPERATIONAL DE-BRIEF – POST CANADA WILDFIRES DEPLOYMENT HUI,
dated 27 August 2025.
•
After Action Review, Type 3 - Strategic Debrief – CHARLIE, DELTA & ECHO deployments to
Canada/North America 2025, dated 23 September 2025.
We consider that the release and publication of these debrief documents would prejudice the
debrief process. Debriefs are a commonly used tool at Fire and Emergency to gain critical insights
into our decisions and performance while undertaking our functions. They support personnel to
learn from situations by recording participants’ free and frank opinions on them.
Fire and Emergency personnel participate in debriefs on the basis that they are a safe, non-blame
environment where they can freely and frankly express their opinions and reflections. We consider
that if personnel knew their views could be released under the OIA and published online, that this
would likely inhibit their willingness to share this information in the future.
For this reason, we are withholding these documents in ful under section 9(2)(g)(i) of the OIA, to
maintain the effective conduct of public affairs through the free and frank expression of opinions
by or between or to Ministers of the Crown or members of an organisation or officers and
employees of any public service agency or organisation in the course of their duty.
We do not consider that, in the circumstances of this case, the withholding of this information is
outweighed by other considerations which render it desirable, in the public interest, to make the
information available.
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.
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
