Fire fighting in New Zealand - a need for rationalisation?
Abstract
In recent years issues surrounding the New Zealand Fire Service (NZFS)
have had more prominence in the New Zealand media than the Fire Service
Commission probably feels comfortable with.
Scenes of angry and disgruntled fire fighters publicly airing their
dissatisfaction with the Fire Service Commission, wholesale resignations,
behind the scenes dismissals and an apparent loss of focus on the people
who do the job; volunteers and professionals alike; highlighted an
organisation apparently in turmoil.
The public perception of the current system and the organisation, the NZFS
Commission, that manages it, is only a part of the total New Zealand fire
management picture.
The intricacies of Rural and Urban Fire Management and the roles and
responsibilities of the New Zealand Fire Service Commission, Local
Authorities, private companies and volunteer groups in funding and delivering
fire-fighting services, remain virtually unknown to the general public.
The system by which rural fire suppression is part funded by the National
Rural Fire Authority (NRFA) and managed on a day to day basis by Local
Authorities, Forestry Companies and committees of unequally committed and
resourced partners is a classic example of the complex nature of Rural Fire
Management. So too is the reliance on volunteers for the delivery of urban
fire services in 80% of the country.
Highlighting this rather complex and confused situation and offering a
recommendation to remedy the problem is the motivation for this project.... [Show full abstract]
Fields of Research
150312 Organisational Planning and Management; 150311 Organisational BehaviourDate
1999Type
MonographCollections
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