Fires restricted in Waikato and Northland
Fire and Emergency New Zealand (FENZ) has declared restricted fire seasons for the Waikato, Northland and Canterbury.
Fire and Emergency New Zealand has announced the stand-up of 17 new districts, replacing the split 24 urban areas and 18 rural fire districts across the country.
Chief executive Rhys Jones says that bringing together over 40 rural and urban fire services and 14,000 people has been a huge undertaking.
“But getting all the different firefighting set ups working together as one national organisation has been necessary,” Jones says.
“Our structural changes are about building a unified national emergency management organisation to meet the changing risks communities face across both the built and natural environments,” he says.
Prior to the new structure announced today, Fire and Emergency maintained a similar leadership structure to the organisations that preceded it, with area managers leading focused brigades and stations, and principal rural fire officers leading rurally focused brigades.
Under the new structure, all brigades and stations will sit together under their respective newly appointed district managers.
National commander Kerry Gregory says Fire and Emergency’s work goes a lot further than putting out fires and the new teams will reflect its wider remit.
“For years now, the proportion of fire callouts has been reducing compared to other incidents – and this will continue to be the case. A changing climate means we’ll need to respond to more frequent and severe natural disasters in the future. We are also attending more road accidents, medical callouts and incidents involving hazardous materials.”
Gregory says the new structure enables Fire and Emergency New Zealand to continue to respond to emergencies and work with communities to keep them safe.
“Reducing the risk of fire is the single most effective thing we can do in seeking to protect New Zealand’s people, property and environment. Our new structure enables us to put an increased focus on risk reduction and supporting communities to be resilient and able to recover more quickly from the impact of emergencies.”
He says this is an important and exciting time for Fire and Emergency and its people.
“I am confident our district managers have the skills needed to successfully deliver our goals and they have my full support. I am looking forward to working alongside them in their new roles.
“We are thrilled to have reached this point and have our new structure stood up to better support New Zealand communities.”
Zara Williams' personal and professional growth has seen her presented with the top award at the 2025 World Wide Sires national all dairy breeds youth camp.
To mark International Day of Education on January 24, 2025, state farmer Pāmu (Landcorp) announced the commencement of its Apprenticeship Scheme, designed to equip the next generation of farmers with the skills, knowledge, and experience needed for a thriving career in agriculture.
smaXtec's bolus technology supports early detection of potential diseases, enabling preventive measures to improve herd health and reproductive outcomes.
Next month, the Beef Breeder Forum is set to give farmers an opportunity to hear about the latest developments in the beef industry.
ACC and Safer Farms have announced a new partnership in an effort to reduce harm, injuries, and fatalities in agriculture.
A Franklin dairy farmer has inched closer to national victory after being crowned Northland’s top young farmer.
OPINION: Back in the 1960s and '70s, and even into the '80s, successive National government Agriculture Ministers and Trade Ministers…
OPINION: The new Public Service Commissioner Sir Brian Roche has just had the hallelujah moment of the 21st century in…