s] The cyclist has since been freed and taken to hospital with serious injuries.

Glenmore Street in central Wellington is closed after a cyclist was trapped beneath a car this morning.

Emergency services were called to the crash which happened between the the street’s intersections with Kilmister Avenue and Garden Road at 6.49am.

Fire and Emergency said two fire crews worked to free the rider who was taken to hospital with serious injuries.

Police said they are working to determine the cause of the crash.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

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Rescuers were told to hold back for more than an hour from saving a man and his dogs in the middle of a flooded Canterbury river unless something “catastrophic” happened, an emergency call log shows.

The man got stuck in his ute in the Waimakariri River near West Melton just north of Christchurch, with water flowing around the bonnet, about 12.30pm on Saturday.

The first 111 call for help was at 12.34pm.

A Coastguard jetboat and Fire and Emergency raft crew got him off the ute almost two and a half hours later, at about 2.50pm.

But the log showed the FENZ raft crew were ready on the river bank just after 2pm, but told not to deploy “unless urgent life preservation required” and to wait for the Coastguard.

The Coastguard had only been alerted about an hour after the 111 call.

By the time their volunteers got there, the vehicle was “sinking”, according to the log.

“FENZ swift water entering water up stream and Coast Guard entering water from down stream.”

The ute was close to the bank and the eventual rescue took less than 10 minutes.

Police defended the way they coordinated the rescue, calling it efficient and covering all the risks.

‘More dangerous to operate’

A source – a trained responder familiar with what happened – told RNZ that holding back was “odd”.

“It was a pretty simple rescue but then because police are managing it they won’t let us do anything. The river came up and made it more dangerous to operate.”

Coastguard North Canterbury was alerted “just after 1:30pm”, its online post said.

“This was our first official swift water rescue response, and the crew were really chuffed to be able to carry it out successfully. It was a great opportunity to put our training into practice,” said North Canterbury vice president Logan Pryce online.

Pryce said the Coastguard only subsequently learned of the delay.

He told RNZ on Tuesday that while the Coastguard had been “pushing hard” for police, FENZ and civil defence to use their capabilities, it was not privy to police decision-making on Saturday.

“We would rather be let know about a situation early and be sent home because it is resolved before we get there, than… have to work harder to help resolve the situation,” said Pryce.

Police said the rescue was “was completed efficiently and without incident”.

The ute’s driver had “remained under continuous observation by staff on the riverbank”.

“At no point did his condition deteriorate or the level of risk increase.”

Police said they were advised a full and ready FENZ swift water team was not immediately available, while the Coastguard could get there in 45 minutes.

“Given the river conditions and the value of a jet-powered vessel in high flows, police proceeded with Coastguard as the most appropriate partner agency,” police told RNZ on Tuesday.

‘Happy to approve whichever response is going to be the quickest’

Soon after the 111 call at 12.34pm, the FENZ call log said: “Toyota ute is half submerged in the water.

“Occupant is sitting on top of the ute with his 2 dogs about 20m from the riverbank. River is in flood. Ute appears stable at the mo’… Nil injuries … River in flood and has a heavy flow.

“Occupant on ute too far away to communicate clearly with.”

Volunteer fire crews set off – the riverbank was just minutes away – and police and ambulance were alerted quickly.

The crews were set up downstream with throw bags by 1.12pm when word arrived that it “sounds like they [police] are happy to approve whichever response is going to be the quickest between Coastguard, Westpac and FENZ swift water rescue”.

Police said they immediately sent an officer to the scene to monitor the man’s safety.

At 1.13pm the log said: “Water rescue approved”. A few minutes later that went – as per protocol – to FENZ’s National Commanders’ Group to sign off on. This took until about 45 minutes after the 111 call.

FENZ at 1.48pm had been trying to confirm when Coastguard volunteers might get there – but Coastguard said it was only alerted about 1.40pm.

‘Unable to deploy unless catastrophic change in situation’

The water-trained firefighter team got to the riverbank at 1.53pm.

But 11 minutes later came the message for them to wait.

A FENZ assistant district commander – who was not at the scene – referring to a decision by the police SAR (search and rescue) coordinator – who was also not at the scene – said:

“Details passed re SAR decision for swift water rescue to not deploy unless urgent life preservation required.

“He requests that as soon as Coast Guard are on scene we are to be advised and FENZ water rescue to be stood down.”

A minute later the Rolleston fire crew messaged from the riverbank, “SWRT [swift water rescue] set up in place – unable to deploy unless catastrophic change in situation This is from police coms [sic].”

RNZ asked police and FENZ what might have constituted “catastrophic”. They did not address that in their statements and did not give an interview.

The source suggested that might look like a large log floating down, headed towards the ute – at which point the swift water team would have had to scramble. “That would put the rescuers in a worse position.”

‘Doing it right, gets the job done’

In the event, the FENZ team waited 35 minutes till the Coastguard got there at 2.40pm, and shortly after they both got the job done.

“Male and 2 dogs back on shore,” said the log at 2.51pm.

Online comments at Coastguard’s site included: “So awesome to see you guys out with FENZ as well. It’s been a hard and challenging road but you’ve proven that doing it once, doing it right, gets the job done.”

RNZ asked FENZ why its water team did not go in immediately.

It issued a two-line statement: “The police were the lead agency and, as such, it’s appropriate that your inquiry is directed to police.

“Fire and Emergency New Zealand responded and were available as an asset to the incident controller.”

Coastguard spokesperson Kimberley Waters said the national operations centre got the call from police and started mobilising.

“So we have no idea at what point a call was made before that.”

Pryce said North Canterbury volunteers had spent several years getting a boat and vehicle and training to technician level, but Waters did not think the delay was in response to the volunteers’ push to be used.

“The process is always police making a decision as to who they want to respond in any given SAR situation so in this situation our swift water rescue is skilled and qualified,” she told RNZ on Tuesday.

Police said it was a coordinated response that ensured the man was brought to safety while managing risk appropriately for all responders.

“Decisions were made collaboratively, based on real-time assessments, available capability, and the paramount priority of responder and public safety,” said operations manager for Canterbury Inspector Bryan Buck, in a statement on Tuesday.

They discussed whether to send a helicopter but did not.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

An investigation of boarding houses in Auckland found significant non-compliance with Healthy Homes Standards, the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) says.

In April, the ministry’s Tenancy Compliance and Investigations Team (TCIT) visited 15 properties in south and central Auckland during a three-day operation.

The investigation team’s national manager, Brett Wilson, said 14 of the 15 properties inspected in the operation did not comply with Healthy Homes Standards.

“Maintenance issues were identified at most of the properties visited, primarily involving structural upkeep of the property, such as doors, windows and guttering, as well as the condition of kitchens and bathroom facilities.”

He said the properties required moderate to extensive repairs to bring them up to the required standard.

“One landlord also disputed that their property was subject to the Residential Tenancies Act and requested TCIT officers leave the premises,” he said.

“Boarding house tenants are typically among the most vulnerable and often lack knowledge of their rights under the Residential Tenancies Act.”

Monitoring boarding house compliance was an ongoing focus for the investigations team, he said.

“Boarding houses have been required to meet the Healthy Homes Standards since 2021 and these targeted visits were an opportunity to assess compliance at a selection of properties, including some that were previously assessed as meeting the standards in 2023/24.”

Wilson said TCIT was working with the landlords to address the issues identified, and reserved the right to take further enforcement action if the issues were not addressed.

The checks were carried out alongside Fire and Emergency New Zealand and Auckland Council.

Auckland Council compliance manager, Adrian Wilson, said staff had been working alongside other agencies through its boarding house inspection programme to address compliance issues.

“This collaborative approach supports compliance across all relevant legislation and helps ensure boarding house tenants’ living conditions and rights are protected.”

Under the Residential Tenancies Act 1986, a boarding house has, or intends to have, at least six tenants at any one time, and a boarding house tenancy lasts, or is intended to last, for at least 28 days.

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Police 111 calltakers are stepping in to take fire calls for Wednesday’s one hour strike at Fire and Emergency.

Unionised FENZ communications centre workers and firefighters would strike for an hour from 4.30pm on Wednesday, in addition to the ongoing Friday one-hour strikes.

FENZ told staff about it on Monday.

“This is a temporary public safety continuity measure only,” Deputy National Commander Megan Stiffler said in an email.

“To date ComCen Leadership have been able to manage the response during strike periods but they are unable to on this occasion.”

The professional firefighters’ union said it understood two leaders had been allowed to go to Australia for a conference.

“They could’ve managed their staffing better,” the union’s national secretary Wattie Watson said.

Public safety was always a factor due to failure to resource the front line, she said.

FENZ said police would only take the calls then transfer them to fire ComCen leaders not on strike for dispatching any crews and trucks.

The calltakers/dispatchers shared office space in close quarters often.

“Importantly, police are not replacing Fire and Emergency staff and are not involved in employment, bargaining or industrial matters,” Stiffler said.

“They must not be asked to explain, justify or defend this arrangement.”

Police said they were meeting their obligations as a statutory public safety agency.

The “predicted call volume over that hour is a small amount compared to police’s call volumes, and as such, the arrangement is not expected to significantly impact our ability to meet our own demand”, police said.

What callers would have to do, and support and advice, had been offered, acting director of emergency comms and dispatch Mike Higgie said.

“Both organisations have communicated clear expectations about the ongoing professional conduct expected from our respective people.”

Watson said the union had limited information but it appeared this was a one-off for this Wednesday.

“We’ve asked for an explanation, we’ve yet to receive a response from them.”

FENZ was not bargaining so strikes were continuing to try to get them back to the table with a new offer, she said.

Stiffler said in a statement to RNZ, “We have continued to urge the [union] to call off their strikes because they put lives at risk.

“An example of this was last Friday when a commander responded during the paid firefighters’ strike rescuing a person from their smoke-filled home.”

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Fire and Emergency has turned down a request to help one of the United States’ top two urban search and rescue teams.

The USA-02 team in Los Angeles county wanted a specific expert to mentor them for one or two weeks a year ahead of a big test in 2029.

“A great honour,” said the manager who got the request last November.

USA-02 came to Christchurch’s aid after the 2011 earthquake and was part of US efforts to help here after Cyclone Gabrielle.

The 60 or so internationally-mandated USAR teams routinely help each other out with training – and help out other countries after disasters.

The international body called INSARAG said FENZ has a strong record for doing that.

But in this case, emails seen by RNZ showed FENZ turned down the US State Department in March.

The agency said it had to prioritise New Zealand and the Pacific.

“The issue was solely one of timing and organisational readiness,” Ken Cooper, national manager of response capability, said in an internal email last month.

However, Chris Lind, the expert the US wanted, emailed Cooper in March: “This represents a lost opportunity to grow our people and our teams for the better, at no cost to the organisation – particularly valuable in a fiscally constrained environment.”

USAR operations manager Glenn Hudson handled the initial request and called the rejection “short sighted” – the emails showed he had urged top management to quickly OK Lind going before some other agency got asked; it was a chance “to put FENZ and NZ Inc branding on the world stage”.

‘We’d love to have Chris’

RNZ understands it sometimes happens that mentor requests between countries are turned down, but not usually.

The Americans had specifically wanted Lind who they had worked with “extensively” including during Gabrielle in 2023, and noted how they had a big joint exercise coming up in May 2026 and “we’d love to have Chris there if he’s able to join us”.

The request added the sweetener for a second expert to come along each year with Lind, adding as usual with travel and accommodation expenses – but not salaries – paid.

They would have worked to help USA-02 pass its next five-yearly test to be reclassified to United Nations standards in 2029 – the gold standard for earthquake and landslide rescues. It is one of just two American teams classified this way. FENZ provided a mentor to help USA-01 pass in 2022 (NZL-01 who led at the fatal Mt Maunganui landslide this year passed their latest big test in 2024).

When RNZ began making inquiries, Fire and Emergency said it would not be proceeding with the mentor proposal.

“New Zealand’s current strategic focus is on developing and supporting capability across the Pacific nations, which requires us to prioritise our people and resources accordingly,” it said in a statement.

It did not agree to an interview.

Hudson played a key role marshalling USAR forces at Mt Maunganui.

In the emails, he told Cooper the LA county job would give personnel significant exposure to the international rescue environment at virtually no cost.

Later, he labelled the time taken to decide on it “embarrassing”, the lack of follow-up “another example of … poor leadership” and the decision itself “short-sighted”.

“I had hoped that Chris’s involvement would both reinforce and strengthen relationships with our partners, including the US and INSARAG,” he wrote.

INSARAG – the International Search and Rescue Advisory Group in Geneva – said it was a bilateral matter.

“It’s not our business to impose anything on them or to comment on their decisions.”

But it added that FENZ had made a “significant… and lasting contribution” to search and rescue internationally down the years.

FENZ is tied up in a contentious and months-long delayed restructuring that included a proposal to change top USAR – urban search and rescue – jobs.

‘We’ve got some very good friends’

USA-02 provided some of the 600 rescue workers from six countries that Christchurch relied on after the February 2011 quake.

“We’ve got some very good friends,” Foreign Affairs Minister Murray McCully said at the time.

The US ambassador echoed this in 2023 when a dozen technical experts were sent here after Cyclone Gabrielle: “When disaster strikes we are there for one another.”

FENZ reports talk of the “breadth and range” of its USAR capability and how they could be deployed worldwide “at a moment’s notice”.

NZL-01 rescued people after the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami in Japan. In 2023, 49 INSARAG teams led the search for thousands of people buried under rubble in Türkiye and Syria. Others went to Beirut after the port explosion in 2020, to the Indian ocean tsunami in 2004 and the 2015 Nepal quake.

INSARAG’s Sebastian Rhodes Stampa in Geneva told RNZ that Fire and Emergency’s record was strong.

“This includes supporting classifications or reclassifications for multiple teams over the years within the Asia-Pacific Region and as far away as Europe and the USA,” he said.

After the 2016 Kaikōura quake it led development of a new coordination and management system since adopted by teams globally.

‘I see the writing on the wall’

Hudson had urged Cooper for a quick OK when the request landed on November 25 from Robert Chapman at the State Department’s office of international disaster operations.

It was a “great honour”, Hudson had immediately told Chapman.

He told Cooper “should we deny this request we would be missing out” on FENZ staff development.

But by January and February there had been no decision.

“I am personally sorry this has taken so long,” Hudson told Chapman. He’d had trouble “getting this request across the line” and now he was stepping back while it was referred upwards to a FENZ deputy chief executive, understood to be Megan Stiffler.

“Standing by,” replied Chapman.

On March 17 Chapman wrote that he had not heard back. “Nothing from Megan … pretty sure I see the writing on the wall here, but it would be helpful for me to get it in writing so I can take it back up my chain.”

A few hours later, he got the thumbs down, Hudson writing, “We have looked at all workloads… and our current restructure will rely heavily on his [Lind’s] input developing USAR capability within New Zealand and with our Pacific partners.”

But an hour earlier an upset Hudson had emailed Cooper that FENZ was going to miss out on free and valuable development and strategic benefits.

In addition, he was in the “embarrassing” position of having told the State Department it would hear from FENZ leadership. “When I spoke to them today … I had to quickly make excuses for the lack of communication from the DCE.”

Lind also said the delay was frustrating and left the State Department hanging.

But he accepted the decision and would carry on, as he had always advocated being capable “within our own backyard in the first instance”, Lind wrote.

‘Prioritise our people and resources’

Cooper rejected that the decision was shortsighted or the process showed poor leadership.

FENZ had had options to work with the US without making the mentor opportunity specific to one person at the outset.

“This option was fully considered and supported by the DCE and you were asked to communicate that offer to the US state department,” he emailed Hudson and Lind.

RNZ understands it would be unusual if one country asked for someone by name as a mentor, for the other country to go ahead offering someone else.

Cooper said there was no guarantee of direct leadership engagement in a set timeframe and the process “does not warrant undermining comments”.

FENZ told RNZ it was all about focus: “It is important that we remain focused on the challenges and priorities we are facing organisationally and within the region.

It had “always been, and remains, supportive of opportunities and continues its active participation in INSARAG. We hope to continue work with our US counterparts to look at ways in which we can offer guidance and supportive.”

RNZ approached the US embassy for comment.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Fire investigators are working to find the cause of a house fire in Orewa overnight.

Fire crews were called to the two-storey home on the Hibiscus Coast Highway just after midnight Saturday morning, where flames had spread through the second floor.

Fire and Emergency NZ said there were no injuries and everyone was accounted for.

Police assisted FENZ at the scene.

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Fire investigators are working to find the cause of a house fire in Orewa overnight.

Fire crews were called to the two-storey home on the Hibiscus Coast Highway just after midnight Saturday morning, where flames had spread through the second floor.

Fire and Emergency NZ said there were no injuries and everyone was accounted for.

Police assisted FENZ at the scene.

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Six people were rescued last night after becoming trapped in floodwaters in Marlborough.

Emergency services were notified about 8.35pm of vehicles stuck in floodwaters on SH6, near Canvastown.

Police Search and Rescue immediately deployed, along with Fire and Emergency New Zealand, the New Zealand Defence Force, and Surf Lifesaving New Zealand, and six people were retrieved from vehicles.

State Highway 6 between Pelorus and Havelock was closed, and remains closed this morning, while floodwater levels remain high.

Motorists are asked to avoid the area, and delay travel if possible.

ENDS

Issued by Police Media Centre

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A loud explosion has been heard at Auckland’s Long Bay beach after an unidentified canister washed up.

Fire and Emergency New Zealand’s northern shift manager, Carrin Larkin, said Defence Force staff had been called to take a look but firefighters believed it was likely to be a marine marker.

She said the canister was “not unsafe” and one fire truck was at the scene.

A Long Bay resident said they had heard “one big boom” coming from the beach about 9.30am on Wednesday.

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Dozens of firefighters are tackling a fire at a block of Kāinga Ora apartments in the Auckland CBD.

Fire and Emergency (FENZ) was called to the four-level apartment block on Greys Avenue around 2pm Monday.

Initially smoke was reported coming from the top floor, but upon arrival crews found the fire was at a ground-floor apartment.

FENZ said eight fire trucks were at the scene, including two ladder trucks.

It was not aware of the fire spreading to other units.

No one had been injured and all people were accounted for, FENZ said.

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Fire and Emergency New Zealand has axed the only paid role on Aotea Great Barrier Island.

Documents seen by RNZ show the new arrangement – sending staff from the mainland — will cost the fire service more than retaining an officer on the island.

Aotea Great Barrier Island is home to around 1250 residents, 50 of whom are volunteers in the local fire brigade.

The island’s voluntary chief fire officer, Wayne Anderson, says volunteers have been supported by a paid, part-time, person on the island since 2000, when the role was funded by Auckland City Council.

In 2017, that position transferred to Fire and Emergency, which ended the contracted role on April 24.

Going forward, staff from Counties Manukau will provide support for the island, a FENZ spokesperson said.

Aotea Great Barrier local board chair, Izzy Fordham, said the community was “pretty devastated” by the decision to cut the on-island role.

“To me, it just doesn’t make sense, and it’s not making sense to our volunteer fire committee, and it’s certainly not making sense to the community,” she said.

“It’s a really vital role for the island, and there seems to be some thinking within the higher management of FENZ that it can be run from the mainland… but that’s not really going to work that well.”

A FENZ spokesperson said the organisation looked at keeping the on-island role, taking into consideration the workload, existing district support, and incident data.

That data showed, on average, crews attended five medical call outs and two structure fires each year.

Mr Anderson said those figures didn’t reflect the times volunteers dealt with floods, or supported the island’s sole paramedic.

However, the low call-out numbers reflected years of fire prevention work which was now at risk, he said.

“It’s going to affect our risk reduction plans definitely because they’ll be flying someone over who nobody knows. We’re a small community, everyone knows everyone, and respect is big, but a stranger going to a house, putting in a smoke alarm, is not going to happen.”

Mr Anderson said that due to the island’s isolation, it needed to be well-resourced, but it was being abandoned.

“Especially in a severe weather event or a tsunami, we’re going to be on our own for quite a few days,” he said.

“In (Cyclone) Gabrielle, the airport was closed for two days. and we had no ferry for a week. The island was cut off into four pieces because of landslides and flooding.

When things escalate, where are these resources, how are these resources going to get here?”

Internal FENZ advice seen by RNZ showed that flying staff to the island would cost more, be less practical than keeping the on-island role, and impact support for mainland stations.

Travel to the island was not straight-forward, Mr Anderson said, and the ongoing impact of rising fuel prices on flight costs and frequency was unknown.

FENZ staff travelling to Aotea from Auckland would “spend a lot of time at the airport,” he said.

“… we do get a lot of cancellations because of weather, and sometimes you’ve spent a long time in the airport waiting for the fog to clear, waiting for the rain to clear.”

According to FENZ, the contract for the on-island support officer was put in place in 2022, with an agreement to review “its ongoing need against broader organisational priorities”.

“This decision to not appoint a permanent role was not made due to cost,” a FENZ spokesperson said.

“Currently a group manager visits the island approximately four times a year. The future arrangement will see the island supported by specialists, including risk reduction advisors, community readiness and recovery advisors and volunteer support officers. These arrangements will have a more regular schedule, likely to be monthly.”

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The cost of calling out an air ambulance helicopter is skyrocketing to over $13,000 an hour – and not because of Iran war fuel price rises.

The hike of almost 65 percent from the current $8200 an hour kicks in from Friday.

“The cost increase for third-party customers does not include the recent fuel price increase as it was calculated prior to the rise in jet fuel costs,” said Health New Zealand and ACC which ordered the rate hike.

The main third-party customers were police and the Rescue Coordination Centre which used the helicopters on almost 3000 operations a year.

The two agencies have been approached for comment, with RNZ asking if they might have to cut back on using the aircraft.

Civil Defence callouts could also cost more, for councils or NEMA.

Health NZ and ACC, which separately fund about 12,000 medical flights and hospital transfers a year, paid for jet fuel for the air ambulances directly, and said that cost had risen due to the Iran war by over $500,000 a month.

“As joint funders of air ambulance services, Health New Zealand and ACC will keep reviewing service costs annually to support service sustainability,” they told RNZ in a statement.

Some of the cost of medical flights has always been met by fundraising for the 23 helicopters by various trusts.

On the search-and-rescue or SAR side, the increase could cost the RCC another $8m a year based on 1400 flight hours in 2024.

Northern Rescue which covers Auckland, Northland and Coromandel said it was not in a position to comment, other than that it was “committed to serving our community and continuing to provide a high-quality, reliable aeromedical service when tasked” and that it was “important to note that we do not control the coordination or dispatch of aircraft”.

The NZ Helicopter Association said the rise would help but still left a gap.

“The full amount will still not cover the operating costs for the air ambulance,” association chair Scott McKenzie said.

“They’ll still need to do a significant amount of fundraising to cover some of their training costs and for purchasing new equipment.”

A big driver was the cost of spare parts in some cases up 80 percent or more since the pandemic – he cited a major part that used to cost $300,000 and was now over a million.

As for higher fuel prices, “This price increase was coming before the fuel price increase hit the country – there’s still a requirement that money will be covered somewhere,” McKenzie said on Thursday.

“In one week, we had an 83 cent per litre increase in the price of Jet A1, which all of the aircraft operate.”

HNZ and ACC said the $8200 an hour rate set in 2024 was not covering costs. The rates were the minimum they set that the country’s three rescue chopper providers had to charge.

“This earlier rate was a partial cost recovery that did not fully cover fleet renewal, capability uplift, and long-term sustainability,” they said.

“In addition, service delivery costs have since increased significantly because of fleet modernisation, pilot upskilling, and inflation.”

“As a result, we have advised air ambulance providers that from May 1, 2026, the full hourly cost of $13,450 must be recovered from third-party customers.

“This approach ensures that third-party customers are fully funding costs generated and supports the financial sustainability of the air ambulance service for patients with urgent health or injury needs.”

The government in the last two years has spent about $27m replacing 16 of the older air ambulance helicopters.

Councils and the National Emergency Management Agency might also be exposed to the latest hourly rate hike if they have to call on the aircraft, as happened in Cyclone Gabrielle.

After the storm, some councils struggled to get reimbursed for aviation and other expenses.

SAR operations sometimes use cheaper regular helicopters but these are usually not as large or well equipped, or able to fly in bad weather or at night so readily.

Cost recovery and who pays for what around air ambulances and other rescue aviation responses has been a factor causing headaches for NZ Search and Rescue, Police, the RCC, ambulance providers, HNZ and Fire and Emergency (FENZ) for at least several years.

In 2023 a FENZ internal email referred to legislative complications and “our logistical problems and double/tripling up of same resource request”.

HNZ stepped in last year with FENZ to remind it was not allowed to directly order up an air ambulance helicopter to transport its cliff rescue crews, even if they did not have another option to get to a rescue over an hour by road away.

Just last month the RCC was given the job of developing a new SAR aviation coordination system to resolve the longstanding problems.

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Firefighters were called to a house on fire in Christchurch on Friday morning.

Fire and Emergency said one person who reported the fire at about 4.20am was inside the one-storey home when it started, but they got out safely.

About eight firefighters put out the blaze.

The home was damaged, but no one was injured.

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Firefighters are working to extinguish a fire that started in a forklift at Port Nelson.

Fire and Emergency says it was called to the fire at the port just before 4.30pm.

When firefighters arrived they found a large forklift on fire and called for another fire engine and a water tanker.

A witness says several loud explosions could be heard after the fire broke out, but it now appears to be under control.

Firefighters are working to contain the oil and diesel runoff.

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Date:  30 April 2026

He was busy repairing the roof of historic stables at the Birchwood Homestead in Ahuriri Conservation Park in the Mackenzie basin, when a young woman cried out for help. Her horse, Manuka, which was part of a local trekking company, had decided to try and leap over a bar in its horse float and had become stuck.

“She asked if I knew anything about horses and I said, ‘no, but I’ll help’. The horse couldn’t breathe. It was stuck on the partition in the float and had slumped over to one side. It was going to die,” Gary recalls.

“I used my angle grinder to cut away the metal partition. We were trying to calm the horse as sparks were flying. We managed to get part of the wall down so the horse could put its front legs on the floor and it started to breathe again.”

Gary says the local fire brigade arrived plus a local vet who helped get the horse out of the float.

“I was so relieved. I have absolutely no experience with horses, so I was just running on adrenaline. The vet checked it out and it seemed fine, if a little wobbly,” he says.

Angie Leckey who runs Adventure Horse Trekking NZ says she’s incredibly grateful for Gary’s quick actions.

“We were so lucky that there were two DOC workers in the close vicinity as Manuka decided to launch himself over the front bar of the float, head down to the ground. He was well and truly stuck, feet flaying around,” she says.

Despite his ordeal, Angie says Manuka has fully recovered.

“Manuka is a very popular horse in the riding string of our adventure trekking company and he’s enjoying his time off. Our team would like to extend heartfelt thanks to all those involved in the rescue and especially to Gary and Emily Hull from DOC who went the extra mile to help,” Angie says.

Fire and Emergency NZ Ōmārama based Chief Fire Officer Jack Zorab also praised Gary and Emily’s actions.

“With the closest FENZ trucks over 40 minutes away, it was only due to the quick actions of the DOC staff who were able to remove the partition using their tools which allowed the horse to continue breathing and stay in place until we arrived. It really was a team effort,” he says.

Gary is taking the all the praise in his stride.

“Without the angle grinder I don’t know how I would’ve saved him. It was just so lucky we were up there repairing these amazing historic stables. It really was a day to remember.”

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MIL OSI

Firefighters have extinguished a fire that tore through a Timaru industrial premises this morning.

One person was seriously injured and taken to Christchurch Hospital by helicopter.

Fire and Emergency was called to the fire in High Street shortly before 9am on Wednesday.

Firefighters found the building engulfed in flames, with 10 crews called to help.

A nearby business owner, Ken Cox from Coxy’s Panel Repairs, said the fire was huge.

“The flames were probably a couple of metres above the roof from what I could see,” he said.

A stack of 205 litre metal drums exploded and loud popping reverberated across the area, Cox said.

A Fire and Emergency spokesperson said the fire was fully out by 3.45pm this afternoon and the building handed back to its owner.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Students and staff have been evacuated from Massey University’s Albany campus in Auckland due to a fire.

Fire and Emergency says 10 fire trucks are at the campus fighting a fire in a classroom on the top floor.

Two more fire trucks are on the way.

AN RNZ video journalist at the scene says smoke can be seen rising from the roofing tiles of the Quadrangle B building.

A spokesperson says everyone has been evacuated, and the fire triggered the sprinklers.

More to come…

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Firefighters are battling a fire at an industrial premises in Timaru.

Fire and Emergency NZ were called to a fire in High Street shortly before 9am on Wednesday.

A spokesperson said the building, which was 30 metres by 40 metres in size, was engulfed in fire when firefighters arrived.

Firefighters from 10 crews are battling the blaze and it is now contained.

Crews are working to fully extinguish the fire, the spokesperson said.

Roads are closed around the building and motorists are asked to avoid the area.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

MIL OSI

MIL OSI

Fire and Emergency (FENZ) is investigating the cause of a house fire that led to the evacuation of neighbouring homes in Rolleston in Canterbury.

Four fire trucks were called to the blaze on Lowes Road about 11.17am on Tuesday.

Police evacuated nearby homes as a precaution.

FENZ said crews were in the final stages of extinguishing the fire and no one had been hurt.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand