The closure of the Mount Maunganui Fire Station for two days over the weekend is raising concern with locals living in the township.

Fire and Emergency NZ District Manager Jeff Maunder says on Friday, September 8, and Saturday, September 9, Mount Maunganui Fire Station saw staffing shortages which took the two trucks at the station offline.

The two trucks at the station, located at 4 Golf Road, Mount Maunganui, are an aerial and a pump. 

The New Zealand Professional Firefighters Union’s posted a message to their Facebook page on Friday, September 8.

The message on Facebook reads:

“Text message sent to firefighters this morning reveals dire staffing crisis inside Fire and Emergency NZ #FireCrisis,” says a union spokesperson on their Facebook page.

“The only aerial appliance in NZ's fastest growing city was pulled from service again today - FENZ failed to crew it. The front running Mount Maunganui fire truck has been offline or short crewed 13 times in the last 4 weeks.

“Today's emergency comes at a time when visitor numbers to the region have swelled with Tauranga hosting the Aims Games this week.”

The Mount Maunganui station is crewed with both 24/7 career firefighters and volunteer firefighters.

Career crews work on a shift roster, and volunteers respond when required.

The station firefighters respond to a variety of emergencies in the local area, including fires, medical emergencies, motor vehicle accidents, search and rescue, and Civil Defence and natural disaster responses.

They also conduct fire prevention and school visits, check smoke alarms in homes and businesses, and offer fire safety advice.

The next nearest fire trucks to Mount Maunganui are at Greerton and Tauranga fire stations.

 “Mount Maunganui people can be confident that Fire and Emergency crews will continue to respond to emergencies in the community with support from surrounding fire stations,” says Jeff.

“Fire and Emergency is working with the New Zealand Professional Firefighters Union to address staffing issues.”