New Zealand Professional Firefighters Union (NZPFU) national secretary Wattie Watson said a single dispatcher had been rostered on for the entire South Island on Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights.
The concerns come after it was reported Dunedin City Station’s lead fire engine had been unmanned for 12 shifts between April and May.
NZPFU is poised to begin industrial action next week after its membership overwhelmingly rejected a pay offer from Fire and Emergency New Zealand (Fenz) for failing to address its concerns about inadequate pay, chronic understaffing and staff safety.
Ms Watson said the South Island communications centre was in Christchurch and usually had two call-takers, two dispatchers and a shift manager working from 7pm to 7am.
But with only one dispatcher working overnight during the weekend, that person was under a lot of pressure, she said.
The dispatcher was responsible for monitoring callouts and ensuring the appropriate resources were attached to jobs.
While other staff in the Wellington or Auckland communication centres could cover the southern region remotely, it was not an ideal solution because local knowledge was important.
All call centres were affected by staffing shortages, which increased the risk of delays, Ms Watson said.
The communications centres were co-located with St John and the police, which both paid substantially more, Ms Watson said.
Fenz national communications centre manager Gavin Travers said 111 calls were automatically rerouted to the next available dispatcher regardless of the caller’s location.
The shift manager staff ensured staff covered for each other to allow breaks.
The configuration of the workforce allowed for varying staff numbers and the team had been down one team member on Saturday night due to a sudden sick leave absence for which no cover could be found.
Emergency responses in the South Island were not compromised, he said.
