Fire and Emergency New Zealand (Fenz) said the strike action significantly delayed the response. Fenz said a standard response time would have been seven minutes, but because of the strike, crews took about 30 minutes to arrive. Witness Tyrone Burne said strong winds fuelled “large, dark orange flames”, and smoke could be smelled across a wide area, as quoted by Stuff. “The nearest career station is Mount Wellington, and they would have arrived on scene within seven minutes,” as quoted by Stuff. Stiffler said Fenz had urged the union to cancel the strike, adding that Friday’s incident reinforced its concerns.

Source: Stuff January 09, 2026 04:05 UTC