Fire crews will continue to respond to emergencies during the hour-long firefighters' strike on Friday, however people living in urban areas are asked to be extra vigilant during this time.
Between 11am and 12pm on Friday, career firefighters around the country will walk off the job.
Volunteer firefighters will be responding as usual and executive officers will respond to emergencies too. Any delays are likely to be in metropolitan areas where there aren't volunteer brigades close by.
READ MORE: Firefighters around the country prepare to walk off the job
FENZ Deputy National Commander Brendan Nally said people in urban areas needed to remain "extra vigilant" during this hour.
"There will be significantly fewer firefighters and 111 communication centre dispatchers than usual, and our responses will be delayed.
"Check your smoke alarms are working, make sure you have an evacuation plan from your house or place of work and take extra care.
"We also won’t respond to less serious incidents in urban areas during the hour of the strike. For example, private fire alarms where there is no evidence of a fire, small rubbish fires, assisting traffic management and animal rescues. This will ensure our resources are focused where they are needed most," Nally said.
With bargaining negotiations having dragged on for over a year, Nally said FENZ have made an application to the Employment Relations Authority for facilitated bargaining.
"Mediation has effectively broken down and we’ve reached an impasse," Nally said.
"We believe both parties will be unable to make further progress in the bargaining, without the assistance of the Authority."
FENZ says they've offered firefighters a pay rise of between 8 and 19% over two years. But the union says it's not enough as wages have been low for many years.
New Zealand Professional Firefighters Union secretary Wattie Watson told 1News this week FENZ is missing the point and it's about more than money.
"If it was just about pay, the firefighters wouldn't be walking off. They wouldn't. This is about the systemic issues in FENZ and they can't keep going like this," said Watson.
Another hour-long strike is planned for next Friday and the union says more industrial action will follow if they can't come to an agreement with FENZ.
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