Fire and Emergency New Zealand Chief Executive Kerry Gregory is proud that the firefighting organisation has been named the most trusted in the public sector for the ninth year in a row.

Verian’s Public Sector Reputation Index, released on Tuesday, has Fire and Emergency taking out top spot, including a clean sweep across the four pillars of trust, social responsibility, leadership and fairness.

Kerry Gregory says this result comes down to the hard work and dedication of everyone at Fire and Emergency.

“We serve our communities to reduce the risk of emergencies, such as fires, from occurring and to reduce the severity and impact when they do happen. Our frontline is there to support our communities when they are going through some of the toughest times of their lives, whether that’s a fire, motor vehicle accident, natural disaster or any other emergency.

“For our firefighters and 111 communication centre operators to do their job they need people to trust them and follow their advice, and this result shows we continue to be in a strong position for that to happen.

“We don’t do the work we do for the recognition, our people’s work is about serving the community. We thank everyday Kiwis for their ongoing support.”

The index is conducted annually and serves as an independent benchmark, evaluating the reputation of nearly 60 public sector organisations in Aotearoa New Zealand. The index uses a globally validated reputation measurement framework customised to the needs of the New Zealand public sector. Each of the four pillars has four attributes against which reputation is measured.

The index began in 2016 and has been running for nine years. Fire and Emergency has topped the rankings every year.