029/2017: Hose tower winches - Update
Due to a failure of a hose tower winch which caused serious injuries to a firefighter, hose tower winches are not to be used until they have been inspected and deemed safe.
Due to a failure of a hose tower winch which caused serious injuries to a firefighter, hose tower winches are not to be used until they have been inspected and deemed safe.
Due to a failure of a hose tower winch which caused serious injuries to a firefighter, hose tower winches are not to be used until the resulting investigations are complete, and the corrective actions are implemented.
A decision has been made to check all rural fire supplied overalls and command vests, following previous National Notices.
We’ve been informed that our Level 1 PPE doesn’t fully meet the Wildfire Firefighting standard. Until we rectify this, take the following safety steps when you wear Level 1 garments at vegetation fires.
Special guidance for personnel working on roadways
Fire and Emergency New Zealand personnel are very well respected in our communities and enjoy a very high level of trust and welcome. This trust allows us to regularly visit homes and workplaces to do things such as Home Fire Safety and FireSmart Visits (HFSV), issuing fire permits, checking and installing smoke alarms, and providing general fire safety advice.
Action
Volunteer Support Officers, hose and waterway maintenance personnel, and career operational officers to identify all thin-walled couplings and immediately remove from service in accordance with the priority outlined. Area Managers to ensure all thin-walled couplings are identified, removed from service, and disabled so they cannot be used again.
Firequip hosereel tubing is NOT to be used for internal firefighting until further notice.