The firefighters union has warned its decision to take faulty fire trucks off the road would further stretch resources in the western suburbs, but was necessary to protect their members.
Last week, United Firefighters Union members voted unanimously in favour of removing faulty trucks from service as part of their ongoing dispute with Fire Rescue Victoria and the state government over the age and safety of Victoria’s fire fighting fleet.
As a result of the vote, 29 of the fleet’s most unreliable fire trucks will be immediately taken off the road if they break down again, instead of being repaired.
“It’s absolutely going to impact services in the west and it’s going to put a huge amount of pressure on firefighters at stations with more than one truck to provide coverage,” said UFU western district delegate, leading firefighter Charlie Williamson, of the potential repercussions from the decision.
Mr Williamson said he knew of at least four trucks in the western suburbs that were on the list of 29, but admitted there could be more.
He said trucks would only be removed from service if they were considered a danger to firefighters and the community.
“The union made it very clear they won’t be taking 29 trucks and parking them on the side of the road. When a truck is faulted it’ll be looked at methodically and taken off the road.”
Firefighters at a number of western suburbs stations, including those at Newport and Brooklyn, have recently had to use fire trucks with faulty equipment or that are well past their 15-year use-by-date.
Fire Rescue Commissioner Gavin Freeman said while he shared the UFU’s safety concerns, placing blanket bans on certain equipment was not the right approach.
“There are established processes in place for addressing occupational health and safety concerns about appliances where they arise, both under safety laws and our Enterprise Agreement,” said Commissioner Freeman, adding that while FRV had a target fleet replacement age of 15 years, fire trucks could still operate safely well beyond this.
“These appliances are specially built and can remain in service for long periods, depending on their usage and workload.”
Last week Deputy Premier Ben Carroll indicated the state government was prepared to invest further in fire fighting equipment, comments that were welcomed by UFU secretary Peter Marshall.
Cade Lucas
