New Zealand Fire Service (Marlborough)
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Should be a quick and easy find at the workplace and assembly point of some of New Zealand's firefighting, men and women.
The New Zealand Fire Service (NZFS, Māori: Whakaratonga Iwi, "Service to the People") is New Zealand's main firefighting body, primarily responsible for providing fire protection to urban and peri-urban areas of the country. The NZFS was established on 1 April 1976, after the Fire Service Act 1975 merged the existing local fire boards and fire brigades into a single national fire service under the new New Zealand Fire Service Commission. It is one of the very few fire brigades worldwide to have jurisdiction over an entire country.
The New Zealand Fire Service employs 1,700 career firefighters who man 79 fire stations in the major towns and cities. The remainder of the country is served by 8,300 volunteer firefighters and 360 volunteer fire brigades.[1] In addition, it employs 585 management and support staff, and 76 communications centre staff based in three centres. In 2012/13, the Fire Service attended just over 70,900 incidents, of which 5,430 were structural fires and 16,510 were non-structural fires (e.g. vehicle, vegetation and rubbish fires).
While being a firefighting service first and foremost, the New Zealand Fire Service has also taken responsibility for several other roles, often on the basis of public expectation. These include hazardous material incidents, vehicle extrication, urban rescue, and severe weather and natural disaster response.
Role
The New Zealand Fire Service is first and foremost a firefighting service, as made obvious by the name. However, it is also increasingly called upon for other emergencies where firefighting skills and tools are helpful, including hazardous material incidents, motor vehicle accidents, natural disasters, and medical emergencies.
In the year to 30 June 2013, the Fire Service attended 70,900 callouts. Of those, 7.7 percent were for structural fires, 23.3 percent were for non-structural fires, 32.8 percent for non-fire emergencies, and 36.2 percent were false alarms. In the same period, 38 people died in 34 fatal fires.
Examples of non-fire emergencies the Fire Service attend include:
Road Crash Rescue – Extrication of entrapped persons in the aftermath of a motor vehicle accident
High Angle Rescue – Rescue from the side of buildings; dangerous terrain (cliff faces, etc.)
Hazardous Materials (HAZMAT) – The containment of a hazardous substance and decontamination of an environment or persons affected by a hazardous substance
Natural Disasters – Addressing the problems caused by heavy rain and high winds (lifted roofing, power lines and trees down onto properties or across roadways, flooding)
Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) – The New Zealand Fire Service is the lead agency for New Zealand USAR operations (Civil defence & emergency management Act 2002) They also manage three USAR Task Force level teams, providing communications and resources. Being the lead agency, the New Zealand Fire Service also coordinates the 17 NZ Response Teams which also provide light USAR support. Paid career NZFS firefighters have a baseline level of training in USAR techniques and make up the vast majority of the actual USAR team members.
Medical Emergencies – Medical 'First Response' in smaller communities where there is no local ambulance service, as well as in the main centres when an ambulance is unavailable or will be significantly delayed in attending an incident. As of Christmas 2013, the New Zealand Fire Service co-responds to all Code Purple (cardiac or respiratory arrest) emergencies St John Ambulance attends nationwide. Note that in the Wellington Region (excluding Otaki), Wellington Free Ambulance responds to medical emergencies rather than St John; while the Fire Service provides backup to Wellington Free Ambulance, they do not co-respond to their Code Purple emergencies.
These additional areas have led the NZFS to begin the process of rebranding; it is now actively promoted as being the New Zealand Fire and Rescue Service as this is seen as a more accurate representation of their role in the community. At a government level the much-expanded role of the New Zealand Fire Service has been recognised, and as such the Fire Service Act 1975 (the legislation under which the service operates) is under review, with a view to replacing the Act with newer legislation which better supports their work.
When placed this micro sized container held RITR strip of paper so please use initials only, and write small with YOP.
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TY, ol srapr. cyrnfr pbire jryy naq or tragyr.