Fire and Emergency is ready to respond to emergencies during Level 4 COVID lockdown, as always.

National Commander Kerry Gregory says New Zealand can be assured, Fire and Emergency is well prepared to help our communities in an emergency during Level 4 restrictions.

"We have plans in place to ensure we can respond. Firefighters will follow COVID protocols when responding to any incident, wearing protective gear to keep themselves and the community safe," he says.

"But we also ask people to help keep our firefighters safe by holding off any non-essential outdoor fires - such as burning household rubbish or garden waste. This will stop firefighters being called out and having to leave their bubbles unnecessarily."

"Even if the fire is under control, the smoke often results in 111 calls which mean our firefighters need to deal with an avoidable call and risk exposure to COVID."

"Please be patient with outdoor fires for land management. Hold off applying for a permit for an outdoor fire until the lockdown is over. While we are under COVID Alert Level 4 we are unable to visit sites to review permit applications."

"We are understandingly reluctant to put the public and our people at risk to conduct inspections, and there will be cases where we cannot grant permits at this time.

"Help us by doing your bit to minimise the risk of fire, and the number of avoidable call outs for our first responders.

"If you’ve lit a fire recently, check and make sure that it is completely out. Dig down into the fire sites, rake them out and pour water on them. If strong winds are forecast, this can cause fires that appeared extinguished to rekindle and flare up again."

"While everyone is at home, now is also the time to think about fire safety around your house. Check your smoke alarms are working and make an escape plan. You can make an escape plan at www.escapemyhouse.co.nz."

"While working from home, make sure you’re not overloading multiplugs at your work stations and keep everything one metre from the heater."

"We’ve done this before, we can do it again. Stay safe Aotearoa."

Find more fire safety info at https://fireandemergency.nz/at-home/

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