Emergency response times in Lara are among state’s worst
Firefighters are regularly failing to respond to incidents in Lara in a timely manner, with the region recording the second worst response time in the state.
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Firefighters are regularly failing to respond to incidents in Lara in a timely manner, with the region recording the second worst response time in the state.
Fire Rescue Victoria blamed the poor response times on reasons outside its control, including rapid urban growth and Lara’s expansive prison precinct.
The agency’s most recent report found FRV met its emergency response standards in Lara just 46.8 per cent of the time, the lowest in the state.
The average time to respond to 90 per cent of incidents was 11.5 minutes, compared to a state standard of 7.7 minutes.
Greendale in Melbourne’s northwest was the only slower district at 12 minutes.
The agency responds to varying emergencies, including fires, road crash rescues, emergency medical episodes, hazmat incidents and building collapses.
A FRV spokesperson said Lara and the surrounding areas were “well served” by local fire agencies, but acknowledged “there are some areas where we are slightly outside of our targets”.
The spokesperson said “many complex issues” affected the response times in Lara, including “the rapid urban expansion and the prison precinct”.
“Callouts to the prison precinct make up a significant number of incidents to which FRV responds. Due to its location and the security protocols required, incidents in the prison precinct can impact response times,” the spokesperson said.
The prison precinct is about 9km away from the station.
The spokesman said FRV was planning for a future fire station in Lara and was working with stakeholders to progress the project.
In 2022, FRV planned to build a $3.8m fire station on Windermere Rd – closer to the prison precinct – but faced community opposition because of concerns about the station’s proximity to the Serendip Sanctuary.
The agency abandoned its attempt to overturn its rejected planning permit, and said at the time they would pursue “alternative options”.
Response times have been a long-term issue for Lara, where the average response time for 90 per cent of incidents has not been lower than 10.3 minutes since July 2020.
In 2017 response targets in the area were as low as 16 per cent.
Lara’s development boom was credited as a significant factor then as well.
A Victorian Government spokesperson said that Victorians were “well protected” by Country Fire Authority and FRV crews.
“FRV has continued to perform strongly and have improved in their response times since last year — Victorians should be in no doubt that they are well protected,” the spokesperson said.
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Originally published as Emergency response times in Lara are among state’s worst
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