Firefighter support: $192m for new fire trucks, mental health support after Black Summer Bushfires
Volunteer firefighters will receive new mental health support after a major cash splash by the NSW Government also expected to upgrade trucks and provide new equipment. SEE THE LATEST HERE.
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Frontline fireys that endured the hell of the Black Summer Bushfires are set to benefit from a whopping $192 million in funding that will see psychologists embedded in local commands, upgraded personal protective clothing and upgrades to 100 fire trucks.
Emergency Service Minister David Elliott said the funds would be the “meat on the bone” in recovering from the last bushfire season, with the government rolling out urgent funding to dozens of the 76 recommendations of the NSW Bushfire Inquiry.
“We are committed to continuing to protect the people of NSW and are funding a range of initiatives to support frontline firefighters, extending hazard reduction works, as well delivering better equipment, and support for the natural environment,” Mr Elliott said.
“We worked closely with frontline agencies to identify priorities to address key recommendations arising from the Inquiry.
“There is no length we won’t go to safeguard communities from disaster.”
Mr Elliott said there would be a major $36 million commitment to the mental health of volunteer firefighters and a $17 million upgrade to high fire apparatuses on 100 trucks.
NSW Rural Fire Service Commissioner Rob Rogers also forecast funding would go to upgrading the Fires Near Me app, which was inundated throughout the last fire season, to allow for Queensland, South Australian and Victorian border fires to be shown within a 50km radius.
“We will be putting psychologists in our seven area commands across the state, and they will be able to work really quickly to work out who needs support and manage them,” he said.
“This is a big game changer.”
More than 8000 new recruits have joined the NSW RFS since the last fire season, with the NSW Government committing to $23 million in additional protective equipment for frontline fireys.
“Last season’s bushfires had a devastating effect on the whole of NSW and this funding will go a long way in ensuring we never see the same impact again,” Treasurer Dominic Perrottet said.
The package of bushfire inquiry initiatives, worth $192.2 million over five years, includes:
$36 million for a new first responder mental health strategy for emergency services
$23 million in additional personal protective clothing for frontline firefighters
$17 million to retrofit NSW RFS and NPWS vehicles and replace FRNSW tankers
$8.3 million extension of an integrated dispatch system for the NSW RFS
$9.5 million to fund initial priority works for the fire trail network
$5.4 million enhancements to the RFS aerial fleet and training facilities
$2.5 million improvements to NSW RFS’s Fires Near Me app
$2.85 million to deliver critical equipment for 31 multi-agency Emergency Operations Centres