Consultation on your local fire plan
17 Haratua 2021
We are rolling out new fire plans across New Zealand, and are currently consulting on fire plans in 16 local areas. The development and consultation of these plans are a requirement of the Fire and Emergency New Zealand Act 2017 (the Act).
What is a fire plan?
A fire plan outlines policies and procedures, specific to a local region, for the management of public safety, and fire risks. Each fire plan outlines things like declaring the beginning and end of fire seasons, prohibiting and restricting fire use, and the issuing of fire permits.
Fire plans also provide increased transparency to the public about how our fire control powers are used. When developing these local fire plans, we carefully consider the fire-risk areas and conditions specific to each local area.
Before the establishment of the Act, fire plans were developed for rural fire districts only, as required by the Forest and Rural Fire Regulations 2005.
What’s new about these plans?
The most significant changes from previous fire plans are that:
- The fire control measures will now apply in rural and urban locations.
- They do not include detail on response and resourcing activities, including contact information for contracted services. This information is captured separately in other planning processes or documents.
- Fire plans now reflect the Local Advisory Committee (LAC) boundaries.
More information and how to make a submission
You are invited to have your say on the proposed new fire plans.
Find more information on the consultation. Submissions close on 9 June 2021 at 5pm.