Source: New Zealand Government
With two fire stations already complete, and building underway on 16 fire stations around the country, today we celebrate International Firefighters’ Day for the important role firefighters have in keeping communities across the country safe, says Minister of Internal Affairs, Jan Tinetti.
The work is progressing due to Government funding through the COVID-19 Response and Recovery Fund to rebuild or upgrade 26 fire stations earlier than anticipated.
“Today we thank our firefighters, and the friends and whānau who support them, for their generous gift of dedicated service,” Jan Tinetti said.
“Being a volunteer often means missing family events or having to leave work to respond to calls for help, so I’d also like to thank your families, employers and others who support you and enable you to do what you do.
“Our 14,000 career and volunteer firefighters and support personnel do an outstanding job keeping our communities safe – they responded to nearly 83,359 incidents last year, a four percent increase on the year before.
“I am very pleased this funding will provide our firefighters with the fit for purpose fire stations they need.
“Firefighting is about so much more than just fighting fires. Firefighters respond to a whole range of emergencies in our communities including motor vehicle accidents, medical emergencies, hazardous substances, severe weather events and natural disasters. Our firefighters are there when we need them the most,” Jan Tinetti said.
