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
25 May 2026
Ref: 21368
Peter Campbell
[FYI request #34348 email]
Tēnā koe Peter
Thank you for your request of 2 April 2026 to Fire and Emergency New Zealand requesting
information about staffing, fleet and Board members pay under the Official Information Act 1982
(OIA). We copy and respond to your questions below.
1. Staffing by Department
Please provide the number of paid FENZ staff by department, broken down for each year
from establishment in 2017 through to EOFY 2026. I would appreciate this in a table that
also includes the percentage of staff by department compared to the total, with
department classifications generally emphasizing front-line firefighters in stations, front-
line firefighters in investigation/risk/support roles, and other NHQ positions including NHQ
management.
Please find attached, as the
Appendix to this response, a table providing the breakdown of Fire
and Emergency staff from 2017 to 31 March 2026. Please note, as Fire and Emergency does not
have departments, staffing data has been grouped by individual teams and workstreams
nationwide. The data does not identify the number of front-line firefighters currently seconded
into non front-line roles (such as roles within NHQ).
2. Aging Firefighting Vehicles
My community has a number of very old trucks under FENZ management for the past 9
years. Do you have any plans to replace the fol owing vehicles?
Cheviot Tanker – 30+ years old
Culverden Tanker – 30+ years old
Hanmer Rural Tanker – almost 40 years old Hawarden Pump – 30+ years old Hawarden
Tanker – 35+ years old Waikari Pump – 30+ years old Kaiapoi #1 – 35+ years old Scargil
Tanker – 30+ years old Waiau Pump – 30+ years old Waiau Tanker – 35+ years old
Waikuku Beach Tanker – 35+ years old
(This list is not exhaustive.)
Fire and Emergency currently expect that the Kaiapoi and Hawarden Volunteer Fire Brigades will
receive replacement pumping appliances as part of the wider fleet introduction programme. These
appliances are already on order, and delivery is anticipated over the next two years. Please note,
the brigades you have asked about will not be receiving brand new appliances, but they wil
benefit from younger appliances being cascaded to the brigades.
At this time, Fire and Emergency does not have active orders for new tankers. Decisions about
tanker type, quantity and allocation wil be determined based on available budget and national
prioritisation at the time of order.
3. Board Members’ Pay
As a levy payer, I would like to understand the documented rationale or benefits behind the
significant increase in board members’ remuneration. Please provide any relevant
documentation from the last three months, including information on how this increase was
prioritized over other urgent needs, such as fleet replacement, given FENZ’s stated budget
constraints.
We wrote to you on 14 April to advise this aspect of your request had been transferred to the
Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) as the information you requested is more closely connected
with the functions of DIA.
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
