Rotorua Airport’s Fire and Operations is primarily responsible for responding to aviation related incidents in the local area. The Airport Fire and Operations team also respond to any incident that may have an effect on the aerodrome including medical, general fire and hazardous substance emergencies. A wide range of airfield services is also performed to ensure ongoing compliance with Civil Aviation Rules, including runway inspections, assessing runway surface and visibility conditions, wildlife management, perimeter security and foreign object management.

The Airport Fire and Operations team work on a roster system and covers 15 hours a day, 365 days a year, The airport’s fire station was built in 2018 and strategically located to enable full emergency response to any air-side location within three minutes of an alarm.

Rotorua Airport is rated Category 5 or Category 6 by request for rescue and firefighting purposes according to International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) classification. This means being suitably resourced to respond with a minimum of 2 vehicles, with a total capacity of 8,000 litres of water with a discharge rate of 4,000 litres per minute, along with 225kg of dry chemical powder (DCP) at 2.25kg per second.

The Rotorua Airport Emergency Service operates specialised, all-wheel drive aircraft rescue and firefighting vehicles. The major foam vehicle being the Rosenbauer Panther 6x6 which is one of the most state-of-the-art firefighting vehicles available. This vehicle alone can discharge 7,000litres of water a minute and carries a water capacity of 7,500 litres.