Hamilton firefighters say fleet hasn’t kept pace with city growth
Saturday, 6 June 2026
The firefighters union says Hamilton’s fleet capability has not kept up with the city’s growth.
This comes as a Parliamentary select committee is investigating fleet issues for Fire and Emergency NZ.
New Zealand Professional Firefighters Union Hamilton local secretary Jay Culhane says aging trucks are struggling to keep pace with the city’s rapid growth.
Culhane told the select committee that the city is one of the “busiest and fastest growing” fire districts nationwide but fleet capability has not kept up.
“Many frontline and specialist appliances are now operating well beyond their intended service life. Some are approaching or exceeding 30 years of age.”
The committee received submissions from Hamilton stations and watches about different vehicles and specialist roles.
Culhane said the submissions all pointed to the same issue.
“Aging appliances, repeated mechanical failures, loss of specialist capability, lack of relief appliances, and delayed replacement programs and an increasing reliance on operational workarounds to maintain service delivery.”
He said it has become the new normal for firefighters to deal with issues like recurring air leaks, cooling system failures, transmission faults, pump issues, and electrical problems in fire trucks.
“Appliances spend an increasing amount of time in workshops and faults that should be isolated incidents become recurring operational issues.”
He said trucks have failed during incidents or become unavailable with little warning.
Another issue the committee heard is that Hamilton’s aerial truck is around 30-years-old but has been out of action for over two months due to “extensive repairs”.
The backup aerial unit is also down, leaving the city without one, Culhane said.
“As a result, a major and rapidly growing urban centre is left without coverage, and then we're drawing on Auckland to come down who are also relatively short.”
He said it’s an issue across other specialist functions as well.
“When these specialist appliances break down or go in for servicing, there is often no equivalent replacement available, so capability is reduced or lost entirely.“
Some crews carry gear in unsuitable vehicles, while others lack any replacement capability, he said.
National MP Tim Costley asked whether replacement trucks were going to the right places.
Culhane said there’s light at the end of a tunnel, as they’re in-line to get a new Angloco Scania fire truck.
He said the truck has taken “too long” to arrive.
“We’re still needing our frontline appliances out of Chartwell and Te Rapa stations to be cascaded.”
Culhane said the fleet problems are “evidence of systemic issues” dating back to FENZ’s formation in 2017, leaving them “lost in the matrix”.
“The consistency of concerns raised independently by multiple stations, crews, and specialist functions suggest these are not isolated operational issues.
“Frontline firefighters will continue to respond and continue to make the system work.
The question for the committee is whether the current fleet system is providing firefighters with the capability, reliability, and support required to do that safely and effectively.
The union says the Hamilton fire station is getting a new fire truck, but it’s yet to arrive.