Auckland fire stations seriously short-staffed

Eleven fire stations were closed or had ‘‘dangerously low’’ staff shortages around Auckland yesterday, the firefighters’ union says.

On the North Shore alone, Birkenhead station could not staff a fire truck, and stations at East Coast Bays, Albany were short-staffed. Glen Eden station was also short-staffed.

Over the past week, the Titirangi community has been ‘‘left unprotected for several days’’, according to the NZ Professional Firefighters Union.

But Fire and Emergency says its ability to get to incidents across Auckland has not been affected and the reasons were rostered leave and trucks being serviced.

There were more than 70 fire stations across Auckland able to help if needed, said Fire and Emergency Te Hiku region manager Ron Devlin

Auckland was placed in a ‘‘restricted fire season’’ on January 10, amid hot and dry conditions increasing fire risk for the city.

Martin Campbell, secretary of the Northern and Auckland Local union branches, said the following stations were either closed yesterday or had dangerously low staffing levels: St Heliers, Parnell, Ellerslie, Mt Roskill, Glen Eden, East Coast Bays, Birkenhead, Albany, Howick, O¯ ta¯ huhu and O¯ tara.

Professional firefighters manage 26 fire stations around Auckland.

With 11 of them down on one day, the union was concerned about public safety.