Last week, the Otago Daily Times reported that Kingston’s chief fire officer had stepped down from his volunteer role, and had taken time off his paid employment, after being diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), triggered by a fatal bus and car accident near Kingston in December.
After his diagnosis, and expecting support from ACC, he was disappointed to find he was not eligible as his trauma stemmed from his volunteer role.
Now, the community is rallying and a petition was submitted to Parliament to give volunteer firefighters the same ACC coverage as paid firefighters.
Queenstown Volunteer Fire Brigade secretary Katherine Lamont launched the petition on Sunday.
It has attracted over 16,000 signatures.
ACC coverage for wages and other benefits for a volunteer firefighter’s paid work does not extend to mental injuries or sickness as a direct result of their volunteer work.
Ms Lamont said a duty of care from the government was being missed.
"There are support systems for people suffering from trauma in both organisations, but none that compensate a volunteer from being off fully paid employment and that’s what we want to see changed."
Minister for ACC Scott Simpson said if the volunteer sector was to be covered in the way the petition suggested, it would expand the ACC scheme considerably.
"My current focus is on ensuring the scheme remains sustainable for future generations."
Fire and Emergency New Zealand deputy chief executive of people Janine Hearn said firefighters could be exposed to carcinogens, physical injury and to traumatic events.
"Changes to the Accident Compensation Act are a matter for the government. However, Fire and Emergency has made submissions on behalf of our firefighters for changes to be made to the Accident Compensation Act 2001.
"In 2023, during consultation on updating Schedule two of the Act, Fire and Emergency also advocated for changes to section 21B, which covers work-related mental injury cover."
She said Fenz noted that section 21b was specific to traumatic events, and firefighters were frequently exposed to that.
"This means psychological harm can result from accumulation of exposure, rather than individual events," she said.
