Firefighters seeing red as ageing fire truck fleet breaking down

A spate of break downs and an ageing fleet of Fire and Rescue NSW trucks – as the state enters the height of the bushfire season – has the firefighters’ union seeing red.

A spate of break downs and an ageing fleet of Fire and Rescue NSW trucks – as the state enters the height of the bushfire season – has the firefighters’ union seeing red.

Data shared to The Sunday Telegraph shows that of the state’s fleet of 584 tankers and pumpers, 222 of these trucks are aged 15 years and older. The oldest trucks are up to 28 years old, commissioned in 1996.

Facebook posts shared from the Fire Brigade Employees’ Union (FBEU) page depict numerous broken down and old fire trucks, including one that suffered a “catastrophic failure” during an operation on the M5 motorway in September last year.

“When a fleet mechanic later opened the panel for the compressor they found that the plastic pipes carrying hydraulic fluid had burned through. Allegedly, this was caused by overheating as a sensor had failed and the cooling system for the compressor failed to operate,” the post read.

“We can’t be having trucks breaking down on the way to a job like this. Working with faulty equipment is not just a hazard for firefighters but for the community as well.”

FBEU state secretary Leighton Drury said Fire and Rescue NSW was facing a “significant issue”.

A broken down and smoking fire truck. Picture: Fire Brigade Employees Union of NSW

“The capital funding has been cut over the last 10 years which has seen the blow out of our standard fire trucks,” he said. “The standards should be at the age of 10 to 15 years they should move off the front lines and become reserve trucks, and by the age of 20 they are retired. We have vehicles that are over 20 years old that are consistently being put into service.

A plea from firefighters on the back of a fire truck Picture: Fire Brigade Employees Union of NSW

“As trucks get older they break down. We have some of the best mechanics going around but even they struggle to keep up with the amount of breakdowns that are going on.”

Shadow Emergency Services Minister Gurmesh Singh said the budget cuts to Fire and Rescue NSW, combined with inflation driving up the cost of parts and services, had resulted in ageing equipment that can’t be swiftly replaced.

Fire and Rescue workers have taken to Facebook to slam broken down fire trucks. Picture Facebook

Another post – and it’s no joke. Picture: Facebook

“A broken-down firefighting truck is not simply an inconvenience, it’s a direct threat to our ability to protect lives and livelihoods during a season when every moment counts,” Mr Singh said.

“No matter where they live, residents need to trust when a firefighter starts the engine the vehicle will run, because it it’s these very trucks that stand between a contained blaze and a community in ruins.”

Emergency Services Minister Jihad Dib said the government was investing in emergency services after “a decade of neglect”.

“We are investing over $2.2 billion in 2024-25 in emergency services, uplifting capability and boosting resources across NSW,” he said.

A FRNSW spokeswoman said $18.6 million was being spent to modernise the fleet, with a further $2 million for aerial ladder platform trucks.

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Originally published as Firefighters seeing red as ageing fire truck fleet breaking down