Gerald Lynch
Taylors Lakes Fire Brigade’s pumper tanker is out of action, with no timeline for its return, according to the United Firefighters Union (UFU)
UFU delegate Gavin Marshall said a replacement provided to the brigade had provided to inadequate.
“The replacement is a 19-year-old truck that has less water holding capacity,” he said.
“This is a significant issue given the regional requirements the pumper tanker usually services.
“The replacement appliance should have been taken off the road four years ago, in accordance with Fire Rescue Victoria policy.
“The reduction in water storage capacity means that firefighters from Taylor’s Lakes are unable to provide sufficient coverage required for the region.
“We have been advised that it (pumper tanker) will be out of commission for an extended period of time.”
He said while the tanker is offline, the area is “a sitting duck”, “waiting for a tragedy to occur”.
“The area usually serviced … has a mix of structural, grassland, industrial and essential services that require a pumper tanker with additional water capacity in an emergency,” he said.
“Should a significant emergency occur, it will impact the ability of local firefighters to contain a fire in a timely and effective manner.
“Instead, a truck from another station will have to be relied upon, depending on where it is called from will result in a time lag to sufficiently attack the fire.”
When questioned about the availability of the pumper tanker, and its return date, a Fire Rescue Victoria (FRV) spokesperson said, “the safety of our firefighters, other first responders and the community is paramount.
“Fire Rescue Victoria does everything it can to ensure the highest safety standards are upheld and appliances are ready to respond in the event of an emergency.
“We continually utilise our vehicle pool across the state to ensure a high level of availability for emergency response. There is no single point of dependency.”
