CFS volunteer say facilities aren’t up to scratch ahead of extreme fire danger season
CFS volunteers are bracing for an extreme fire danger season, but say their facilities aren’t up to scratch ahead of summer.
SA News
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CFS volunteers are gearing up to face what’s predicted to be one of the most extreme fire danger seasons over the coming months, but firefighters in some regions say they aren’t being provided with adequate facilities at their local stations.
Firefighters across the state have “limited facilities”, with one volunteer saying their “grass root” station is being overlooked and underfunded.
Kybybolite CFS captain Andrew Shepherd said crews in remote areas preparing for another hot, dry summer are in desperate need of more funding for their stations.
“At the moment, we don’t have a lot. It’s really just a big shed,” he said about his local station, which is about 300 km southeast of Adelaide.
“We’ve got a small toilet area, but there’s no change rooms or any other areas.
“Honestly, the grassroot CFS stations don’t really see the funding from the government. We’d really appreciate some money so we can upgrade a bit.
“We’ve only got about 15 members, but there’s nowhere for us to sit and debrief after a job. I have to go home to log details about an incident because I need a computer and internet to do that, and we don’t have that at the station.
“City people just don’t understand how we operate with so little. We had one guy come up and ask us for the internet password. We have no Wi-Fi, we have no computer. They’re really just not used to it.”
He said given the climate in regional areas over the past 12 months, there’s a lot of dry vegetation that could easily burn during the fire danger season.
“We’ve had no rain in the last few months. The vegetation is already dry, and with so much growing over winter, there’s a lot to burn.
“Whether or not it will be the worst fire danger period we’ve seen, we’ll just have to wait and see. But it’s certainly going to be a challenge for us going forward.”
Ardrossan CFS Brigade captain Peter Cook said he was “increasingly nervous” for the hot season ahead.
“It does make me nervous. There’s a lot of fire potential out here so we’re crossing our fingers that we’re not needed as much.”
In parliament on Wednesday, Greens MLC Tammy Franks slammed the state government for not adequately providing for the many South Australians that risk their lives to defend the community from bushfires and other emergencies.
She said that of the 425 CFS stations across the state, there are 345 without change rooms, and 90 without access to their own bathrooms who are forced to use other facilities in the area.
“We do not know how adjacent they are, and we do not know what the operations of those arrangements are. I am informed in some cases there are toilet blocks nearby, but it seems to be incredibly ad hoc,” she said.
She said the government’s allocated $12 million over four years – or $3m per annum – funding commitment was “actually the normal budget allocation for the CFS towards building maintenance”.
With that amount of funding, she said, it would take 140 years to rebuild every station in the state.
“This will be a cruel summer. We know that we rely on volunteers to keep our people, property and nature in this state safe in
these seasons.”
Emergency Services Minister Joe Szakacs said the state government recognises the need to provide appropriate facilities and equipment to those who volunteer to protect the lives and property of others.
“The vast majority of the 425 CFS stations across the state have private spaces that can be accessed by members, while others are adjacent community facilities which can also be used,” Mr Szakacs said.
“Many of the stations now operated by the CFS were first built by councils before transferring to State Government ownership in 1998, and were in poor condition at the time.
“Since then, upgrades have been prioritised taking into account the need for toilets and change rooms.”
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