Recommendation Date
Recipient Name
Fire and Emergency New Zealand
Text
It is advisable that the responsibilities of the various authorities involved in responding to a shipboard fire are clearly documented and understood by all parties involved.
The FENZ Ship Fire Procedure did not accurately reflect the obligations of the master and the harbourmaster, which under different circumstances with different people involved could be problematic.
On 19 September 2018, the Commission recommended to the Chief Executive Officer of FENZ that he review its procedures for firefighting on board ships to ensure that they accurately reflect the mandated responsibilities of the ship’s master, the harbourmaster and any other person or organisation that could be involved.
The FENZ Ship Fire Procedure did not accurately reflect the obligations of the master and the harbourmaster, which under different circumstances with different people involved could be problematic.
On 19 September 2018, the Commission recommended to the Chief Executive Officer of FENZ that he review its procedures for firefighting on board ships to ensure that they accurately reflect the mandated responsibilities of the ship’s master, the harbourmaster and any other person or organisation that could be involved.
Reply Text
Fire and Emergency is reviewing its Operational Instruction S8 (Ships) to ensure that it accurately reflects the respective responsibilities of ships' masters, harbourmasters, and other agencies or persons who may be involved in emergency response activities.
Fire and Emergency will ensure that similar reviews of local operating procedures (required by Operational Instruction S8) occur and that any necessary adjustments are made to those procedures.
Fire and Emergency is also a member of the Australasian Fire and Rescue Associations Council (AFAC). AFAC's Urban Operations Group has recognised that fire services in Australasia would benefit from additional guidance on ship firefighting.
The development of an AFAC guideline on this topic has been added to its work programme. Fire and Emergency will consider the guideline once it is available with the intent of incorporating relevant content into Operational Instruction S8.
It is expected that this procedure will be in place by the first quarter of 2019 and Fire and Emergency would welcome input for the Commission when developing the procedure.
Fire and Emergency will ensure that similar reviews of local operating procedures (required by Operational Instruction S8) occur and that any necessary adjustments are made to those procedures.
Fire and Emergency is also a member of the Australasian Fire and Rescue Associations Council (AFAC). AFAC's Urban Operations Group has recognised that fire services in Australasia would benefit from additional guidance on ship firefighting.
The development of an AFAC guideline on this topic has been added to its work programme. Fire and Emergency will consider the guideline once it is available with the intent of incorporating relevant content into Operational Instruction S8.
It is expected that this procedure will be in place by the first quarter of 2019 and Fire and Emergency would welcome input for the Commission when developing the procedure.
Related Investigation(s)