The Annual Report sets out the results the New Zealand Fire Service Commission (Commission) has achieved against its annual plan (Statement of Intent). The annual report describes some of the key events that have occurred during each year, sets out the key results and the financial performance of the Commission against its intended performance.

The Commission's annual report is formally tabled in Parliament each year and is analysed by select committees to judge whether the Commission has delivered value to New Zealand communities.

Featured below is the table of contents and a short overview from the report. If you would like to read the report click on the download pdf link in the blue box to your right.

Table of Contents

Transmittal Letter from the Chairperson 2
Commission Overview 5
Chief Executive Overview 9
Statement of Responsibility 17
Audit Report 18
Statement of Objectives and Service Performance 20
Statement of Accounting Policies 53
Statement Specifying Financial Performance 56
Statement of Financial Performance 58
Statement of Movements in Equity 58
Statement of Financial Position 59
Statement of Cashflows 60
Statement of Commitments 61
Statement of Contingent Liabilities 61
Notes to the Financial Statements 62

Overview

Commission Membership

The membership of the Commission remained unchanged during the year. Current members are:

Dame Margaret Bazley, DNZM, Chairperson
Mr Terry Scott, Deputy Chairperson
Ms Angela Foulkes, member
Dr Piers Reid, member
Mr John Hercus, member.
Statutory Functions of the Commission
The Commission has four main statutory functions:

• Co-ordination of fire safety throughout New Zealand (sections 20 and 21 of the Fire Service Act 1975 and section 12(2) of the Building Act 1991)
• Governance of the New Zealand Fire Service (section 14 of the Fire Service Act 1975)
• Exercise of the functions of the National Rural Fire Authority (section 14A of the Fire Service Act 1975 and section 18(2) of the Forest and Rural Fires Act 1977)
• Receipt and audit of the proceeds of the Fire Service levy (sections 47B and 48 to 53A of the Fire Service Act 1975).
  

Co-ordination of Fire Safety

The Commission discharges its responsibility to co-ordinate and promote fire safety throughout New Zealand in a variety of ways. The Commission:

• Develops an annual Fire Safety Promotion plan based on the comprehensive analysis of incident data and other information.
• Monitors the level of fire safety awareness in the community through regular surveys of at-risk communities and the wider population.
• Publishes a comprehensive range of fire safety brochures on topics as diverse as winter fire safety, Guy Fawkes night and residential sprinkler systems.
• Runs an annual fire-wise campaign on national television targeted at specific risk groups and monitors the effect of the campaign.
• Makes submissions on any changes proposed to the fire safety provisions of the Building Code.
• Applies to the Building Industry Authority for determinations on buildings it considers do not comply with the fire safety provisions of the Building Code.
• Manages, in partnership with the Historic Places Trust, a strategy for the protection of historic and heritage buildings.
• Operates, in partnership with iwi and the Historic Places Trust, programmes to encourage the fire protection of wharenui and culturally significant buildings constructed from traditional materials.
• Promotes fire safe codes of practice for special occupancies such as:
• Back country huts
• Homestay and backpacker accommodation
• Schools and other educational facilities
• Hospitals and rest homes
• Places of detention
• Housing New Zealand houses and apartments.
• Awards research contracts on fire safety subjects to the value of $500,000 per annum. Contracts awarded in 2003/04 covered research into:
• Human behaviour leading to fatal fires
• Fire protection in heritage buildings
• Sustaining communities at economic risk from major fires
• The impact of fire service activity on the environment
• The total cost of managing the risk of fire in New Zealand
• Climate variability and seasonal fire danger
• Developing tools for assessing fire risk at household level.
• Hosts seminars to publicise and disseminate the learning and knowledge derived from research contracts let in previous years. Presentations at the 2003 seminar covered:
• Modelling post-earthquake fires
• Use of climate data for fire season forecasting.
• Hosts special functions for stakeholders and fire safety partners throughout the country. In 2003/04, functions were held in:
• Gisborne
• Nelson and Blenheim
• Tauranga and Hamilton
• Invercargill and Frankton.
• Funds the annual Len Doughty Fellowship for NZ Fire Service personnel to research best practice in a relevant subject area abroad. The 2003/04 award was for research into international best practice in fire investigation.
  

Governance of the New Zealand Fire Service

The Commission discharges its principal governance responsibilities through:

• The appointment of the Chief Executive. Mike Hall was appointed to the position of Chief Executive of the NZ Fire Service in May 2001 for a term of five years.
• The Performance Agreement. The terms and conditions of the employment Agreement with Mike Hall include specific performance expectations. The Commission assessed the Chief Executive’s performance against the expectations in May 2003.
• The Instrument of Delegation. This document delegates to the Chief Executive certain of the Commission’s statutory powers subject to relevant policy direction. The delegation dated 20 June 2001 and a subsequent variation dated 20 December 2002 remained in force during the year under review.
• The Statement of Intent. This document sets out the high level objectives of the Commission and the services it will provide to achieve those objectives. Supporting details in the document establish the quantity, price, quality and timeliness of the outputs to be delivered and must be consistent with the Estimates of Expenditure approved by the Minister. The Estimates of Expenditure were approved by the Minister on 7 July 2003 and the Minister received the Statement of Intent on 18 July 2003.
• The Audit Committee. This committee advises the Commission on risk management, policy compliance, the annual audit programme and statutory reporting. Members of the audit committee are Alan Isaac, the independent chair, and Commission members Angela Foulkes, Dr Piers Reid, John Hercus and Dame Margaret Bazley.
  

During the course of the year under review, the Auditor- General published best practice guidelines for public sector agencies that grant public funds to non-governmental bodies. A key recommendation of the Auditor-General’s report was that funding agencies should establish procedures to review the governance and accountability arrangements of the organisations they fund. The Commission made grants to a number of non-government organisations in 2003/04 and followed the Auditor-General’s recommendations in each case.

National Rural Fire Authority

Responsibility for the delivery of rural fire prevention and suppression services rests with rural fire authorities — mostly local government territorial authorities but also the Department of Conservation, the New Zealand Defence Force, private forest plantation owners and other special purpose entities. The Commission, acting as the National Rural Fire Authority (NRFA), is responsible for rural fire policy at a national level. This includes establishing national standards and codes of practice, auditing compliance with those standards, co-ordinating rural fire authorities and reimbursing the costs incurred by rural fire authorities in fighting rural fires. Highlights of the year under review included:

• Montana and Idaho USA Wildfires. Under the terms of a mutual assistance agreement signed in 2001, nine rural fire managers from a variety of New Zealand agencies were deployed to the United States in August 2003. This was the third time in four years New Zealand wildfire managers had responded to requests for support from the United States National Interagency Fire Centre.
• Enlarged Rural Fire Districts. The Authority has long promoted a programme of rural fire district amalgamation to provide for more consistent, professional rural fire management. On 6 August 2003, the Southern Rural Fire District was gazetted. The enlarged district encompasses areas previously administered by the Gore and Southland District Councils, the Invercargill City Council, Southern Plantations and the Department of Conservation all of which are represented on the new rural fire authority for the enlarged district.
• National Incident Management Teams. Following an extended period of extreme fire weather and a series of uncontrolled rural fires in the Canterbury region in December 2003 and early January 2004, it became apparent that regional resources were close to being exhausted. One of the National Incident Management Teams was deployed on 6 January to manage the Mt Somers wildfire and a second team was mobilised to Christchurch on 8 January but was held on standby to support regional resources at short notice if required. A weather change on 11 January provided significant relief and control was returned to regional fire management on 12 January. The incident was a timely reminder of how quickly local resources can come under pressure in extreme conditions and how valuable the backup capability of the national teams is at such times.
• Flood Emergencies. In both the Rangitikei/Manawatu and Bay of Plenty flood emergencies in early 2004, rural fire services played a significant role in the emergency response and clean-up phases. They have been appropriately recognised by their communities and the national agencies for their contribution.