An independent review has been released into the operational response of Fire and Emergency New Zealand (FENZ) during the Port Hills fires in February this year.
The review found that, while fire-fighters did a lot of things well, there are areas that need to improve, and FENZ has developed an action plan to assure it can carry out its duties better in the future.
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"The action plan focuses on three main outcomes - improving how our firefighters and incident management team operate and work together; the safety of our firefighters; and keeping the community at the heart of our work before, during and after an incident," chief executive Rhys Jones says.
"The main difference is, next time, it will be one organisation responding to the fire. Fire and Emergency New Zealand has brought together urban and rural firefighters from 38 different fire agencies into one organisation under one piece of legislation.
"The lessons from these fires and this review will be help us build our new organisation into one that serves our communities best."
The Port Hills fires:
- The fire lasted from February 13 to April 20, taking 66 days to be declared fully extinguished.
- Tragically, the fire claimed one life. That of helicopter pilot and decorated soldier, Steve Askin.
- No other serious physical injuries to firefighters or residents.
- Originally two fires, starting in Early Valley Rd and Marley's Hill, they merged to become one inferno.
- It ravaged 1,661 hectares of land, the equivalent of 1,600 rugby fields.
- At its peak, the fire had 100,000 kilowatts of energy, the equivalent of up to four atom bombs.
- More than 300 firefighters from across the South Island, including two crews from Dunedin, responded.
- Between February 13 and February 17 in excess of 900 calls came in to 111, the majority of which were Port Hills related.
- Fourteen helicopters and more than 100 appliances and water tankers were deployed.
- Nine homes were lost and five others suffered damage.
Communication
Communication was an issue highlighted by the review carried out by Alan Goodwin of the Australasian Fire and Emergency Services Authority Council.
It found communication with the public, and particularly homeowners, should have been better and that has been "an important lesson" for FENZ.
Firefighters stood down
The review also found FENZ made the right decision to stand down firefighters on the first night of the fire.
"A joint decision was made to withdraw the ground crews and use the last of the remaining light to focus on multiple monsoon bucket drops," the review read.
"With an analysis of how the fire was behaving at the time, it was decided a fire patrol would be maintained overnight, with the knowledge that firefighters were nearby should they need to be called back.
"When the fire flared up again at 2am, fire service and rural personnel responded immediately."
Fires were one of the biggest and most complex in New Zealand's history
Mr Jones adds the fire risk is something everyone needs to be aware of and prepared for.
"I want to acknowledge the people who lost so much as a result of the Port Hills fires. You have my deepest sympathies and commitment to improving how our new organisation, Fire and Emergency New Zealand, responds to events like this in the future," he says.
"I also want to thank all firefighters, emergency responders, support personnel and community volunteers who worked tirelessly in very difficult conditions to keep Christchurch safe."
'Hesitant to trust the response and effectiveness from the fire service' - family who lost house
The Grace family who lost their house in the Port Hills fire have told Newshub they are "hesitant to trust the response and effectiveness from the fire service in a similar situation."
"Since the fires we have lived with the guilt that in some way it was our fault for not calling for help earlier, however these findings show systematic failures in their response."
Newshub.
