An internal Fire and Emergency New Zealand report found that firefighter training was often outdated, disjointed and unsafe for learners, and claimed some trainers used military-style "beasting" to belittle recruits, RNZ reports.
The organisation responded with a training reset limited to new recruits and volunteers, rather than its more than 1,000 professional firefighters. National training leader Joe Stanley, who blocked extending it, disputed the report's focus on individual instructors, saying they were doing their best in an underfunded system.
The report was not shared with firefighters or the government. Internal Affairs Minister Brooke van Velden told RNZ she had not been made aware of it but understood it had shaped this year's training redesign. The head of the volunteers' association said he would ask for a copy. The agency's chief executive resigned last week after the minister said she had lost confidence in him.
Source: RNZ
