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
9 June 2026
Ref: 21752
Mike Hunua
[FYI request #34687 email]
Tēnā koe Mike
Thank you for your request of 12 May 2026 to Fire and Emergency New Zealand requesting
information relating to hazardous substances preparedness. Your request has been considered
under the Official Information Act 1982 (OIA), and we copy and respond to each aspect of your
request below.
1. Can FENZ HAZMAT teams ID substances via testing on scene at a HAZMAT incident, and
what equipment do HAZMAT units have for ID of chemicals other than pH testing?
Fire and Emergency Hazardous Substance teams are able to identify certain gases at hazardous
substance incidents. The teams carry two MultiRAE Portable Multi Gas detectors and an AutoRAE
photoionisation detector (PID). One MultiRAE gas detector can detect flammable gases, hydrogen
cyanide, hydrogen sulphide, carbon monoxide and oxygen levels, the second MultiRAE gas
detector can detect chlorine and ammonia. The photoionisation detector detects volatile organic
compounds.
2. How often does FENZ review and make changes to HAZMAT Training?
Fire and Emergency continually reviews its training material to ensure it is fit for purpose. We can
confirm that all hazardous materials training material is currently under review. We are updating
our Hazardous Materials Technical Manual, which will further inform our training requirements.
We have also updated our training module
Hazmat A (Photoionisation detector training) and have
developed our module cal ed
Hazmat B, which focuses on managing liquid spills and neutralising
acids and bases. Later this month we will be releasing our hazardous substance awareness
package which is an online learning module. We also have a Hazardous Materials Capability
Development Strategy that informs our work programme.
3. Can FENZ release the ICAD incident report, as wel as improvements made after the
Hawke's Bay Protein acid spil in 2024?
You have specifically asked for the ICAD report. The information in the ICAD report feeds into
a more comprehensive report – the SMS Incident report. The SMS incident report provides similar
details to the ICAD report but also includes a summary of the incident and, in certain cases,
comments from attending officers and the fire investigator. On that basis, we have attached, as
the
Appendix to this response, a copy of the SMS Incident Report. However, if you stil want
the ICAD report please let us know.
Some information has been withheld from the report under section 9(2)(a) of the OIA, to protect
the privacy of natural persons. In making this decision, we have considered the public interest
considerations in section 9(1) of the OIA. We have also redacted the names of personnel involved
with this incident and these have been labelled as out of scope in the attached PDF.
Please note the SMS Report provided to you is generated by Fire and Emergency’s electronic
station management system. In SMS Reports, ‘Notifications’ and ‘Message Log’ fields are reported
in real time as fire crews and our communication centres communicate with each other during the
incident. They may contain spelling errors or commonly used abbreviations.
In terms of improvements after the Hawke's Bay Protein acid spill in 2024, as noted above we have
developed training packages for firefighters for using photoionisation detectors and neutralising
spills, this is to be rolled out to personnel this year. We have also developed an online Hazmat
awareness learning module for all staff that is available this month.
4. Has FENZ completed its decontamination project and made any frontline changes?
The decontamination project is complete and as part of the project we have introduced a low and
no water decontamination procedure (dry decontamination) in Hawke’s Bay and Wellington. The
procedures will also be implemented in Christchurch before the end of June 2026.
This new process uses evidence-based decision making to determine whether decontamination is
required and, If so, the most appropriate type and level of decontamination based on a person’s
level of exposure. Previously, the standard process was to place all potentially exposed persons
through a decontamination shower regardless of their level of exposure. Assessing whether
decontamination is required, and the most appropriate method, can reduce complexity at
incidents and minimise unnecessary disruption for members of the public and partner agencies.
5. Are FENZ equipped and trained to respond to biological and radiological HAZMAT incidents
in both terrorism and civilian use cases?
Yes, Fire and Emergency personnel are trained to respond to both types of incidents.
6. Are FENZ equipped to be able to mass decontaminate 100s of persons in the event of a
large-scale HAZMAT event as the lead agency?
Fire and Emergency is not specifically equipped to decontaminate hundreds of people at one time.
While we have generalised approaches that would be taken to decontaminate large groups of
people, these do not use specialised decontamination equipment designed for large groups.
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
