Outdated CFA vehicles putting our firefighters and community at risk

Speaking in Parliament this week, Nationals Member for Euroa Annabelle Cleeland has called on the Labor Government to ensure local CFA brigades are properly equipped to handle what is expected to be an intense fire season.

After documents from Fire Rescue Victoria were made public during the week, reports indicated that more than half of Melbourne’s fire truck fleet is over 15 years old, while the situation is even more dire for our regional brigades.

“So many of our dedicated volunteer fire brigades are stuck with the majority of their vehicles, pumpers, and tankers being over 20 years old,” Ms Cleeland said.

“Many other CFA appliances are listed as being over 30 years old.

“Having met with five brigade captains and several volunteers recently, there are serious concerns about these ageing vehicles as well as the culture of the CFA as it deals with a lack of funding and support from the Labor Government.”

A report made by the Grattan Institute last year highlighted the dangers associated with trucks this old, including carcinogens that can cause serious illness and death, increased carbon emissions, pollution and more.

Ms Cleeland said failing to provide our brigades with fit-for-purpose vehicles, together with several other recent policy decisions, would be putting our communities, and volunteer firefighters, at risk.

“With the fire season approaching, our CFA brigades are in desperate need of appliances that are fit for purpose in order to protect our volunteer firefighters and to protect our communities,” Ms Cleeland said.

“As we approach summer, we gave seen a string of bad decisions by this Government when it comes to fire management. This includes a lack of planned burns, the closing of the sustainable native timber industry, and a reduction in 6,500 operational CFA volunteers since 2015.

“History has shown the only time this Government shows an interest in resourcing our brigades is after tragic fire events. We simply cannot afford to leave it too late this time.”