Auckland City Fire Station

Looking at fire safety with a level head.Dear Firefighters, building managers, property managers and landlords, I am just a tenant in Knightsbridge building on Boardman lane just off K-road. Over the 5 years I have lived here there have been numerous false fire-alarms. In fact, there have ONLY been false alarms. The false fire alarm at 2am this morning made me sit down and write to you some of my grievances.You see, there are many issuesI am forced to allow random people access to my home several times a year. Fire alarm inspectors. Even during Covid I am unable to keep them out. I should put inspectors in quotes because they are idiots just going through the motions. On one occasion the “inspector” was testing the heat sensor with a lighter leaving soot on the white ceiling.Why do we have so many false alarms despite frequent inspections? Are the inspectors held accountable?Would it not be prudent to inform residents afterward why they were woken up and shoveled into the cold night air at 2am?Without such info, would it not be reasonable for a resident to assume all alarms are false alarms and like the boy who cried wolf once too often?Residents are treated like cattle, expected to comply but not worthy to be talked to. How do you think that goes down?While older residents on the top floors make their way down the fireproof concrete stairwell I noted at the ground floor 3 firefighters fully kitted up cramming themselves into the elevator. Fun detail, that elevator was broken earlier that night.It is hard to accept that the use of elevators is dangerous during a fire alarm while firefighters make use of the very same elevator.Might I point out that the fire-alarm is ear piercingly loud that it causes disorientation? Imagine finding your way in dense smoke and also being deprived of your ability to hear or think. Sure, the alarm needs to wake up residents sleeping with earplugs in. But if the person doesn’t wake up after a few minutes then he’s probably dead. The alarm should drop back to a lower decibel setting after a few minutes.Meanwhile real fire risks are ignored in this building. A while back the lobby escape route was partially blocked by a large piece of furniture for ten days. I notified the building manager but he refused to take immediate action.In my own apartment the range hood filter has been broken for a long time. The ducts are saturated with oil and grease causing it to drip oil on my stove when it gets warm. Despite making my property manager aware of the fire risk, nothing is done about it. I keep a fire extinguisher ready but those kinds of fires are difficult to extinguish.My point. So much energy is wasted around fire safety. “Better safe than sorry” is the abused catch phrase. But actually, this isn’t safe at all! At every level: Property inspection, Fire alarm inspection, Evacuation and Firefighter response. People go through the motions but nobody cares when it matters.Building managers and landlords should be taken to task when they refuse to act on real fire hazards.Firefighter response to automated alarms needs to be smarter. Have a fast acting fit firefighter on a motorbike with two fire extinguishers strapped to the side as a first response to an automated residential alarm. The alarm is likely to be a false alarm or a small fire. Buildings and materials have gotten safer over time. Home appliances have improved. Buildings could be rated to the level of response required. Is it really necessary for the fire department to respond with four trucks for every false alarm? Is it no wonder you guys are overworked?Therefore, I do not support your current protest action. I believe it’s time fire safety rules need to be more realistic. Response to automated alarms should be more efficient. Follow through to recuperate costs for false alarms.

Thank you so much for getting to our house fire in Douglas St Ponsonby. It is so fantastic that everyone got out safely. But your speed and skill also saved most of our house.

Just had these guys in to help with fire alarm on a very high celling. From the phone call to actually coming straight away on a Sunday I couldn't speak more highly of them. They were helpful and very friendly so Chris and co well done you do the NZFS proud.