CFA introduces new medical assessments for volunteer firefighters but not career staff

Volunteer firefighters face regular medical checks to remain on the front line but the CFA is refusing to implement similar assessments for full-time staff.

Volunteer firefighters face regular medical checks to remain on the front line but the CFA is refusing to implement similar assessments for full-time staff.

CFA chief officer Steve Warrington has revealed plans to make volunteers visit their doctor every year, saying the CFA would “make those hard decisions” to take people out of service if their health was an issue.

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The CFA is also working on changes to make volunteers pass physical assessments showing they are fit for duty.

But Mr Warrington said similar requirements would not be brought in for the authority’s 1320 career firefighters.

Several independent reviews have urged the introduction of fitness for duty tests for MFB and CFA firefighters, but the Andrews Government has refused to act amid fierce opposition from the United Firefighters Union.

The Inspector-General for Emergency Management completed a major review of fitness for duty requirements in Victoria’s emergency services in 2016. The government would not release it, arguing it was being considered by Cabinet.

CFA chief officer Steve Warrington. Picture: Alison Wynd

Roadblocks to fitness tests in the new MFB workplace were also a key factor in the departure of several senior figures who were frustrated at the UFU’s opposition.

Mr Warrington, asked on 3AW if the new requirements would cost the CFA volunteers, said: “That’s not our aim.”

“It’s likely there will be some members today that are fighting fires may through the process identify the fact that they’re not healthy and shouldn’t be there, and that’s as much for their own wellbeing as their team members,” he said.

A fire services insider warned the impact on volunteer numbers would likely be “devastating”.

“How outrageous that volunteers who donate their time to protect their communities are being forced to jump through hoops that paid firefighters wilfully avoid,” the source said.

Mr Warrington said the CFA had run an 18-month trial involving almost 500 volunteers in the state’s southwest, which had picked up issues from high blood pressure to cancer.

“I think we have a duty of care, I think we have an obligation to make sure our people absolutely know they’re healthy before they get on a fire truck,” he told 3AW.

Mr Warrington said the CFA needed extra funding to roll out the new requirements across the state, and that it would take several years to implement.

A government spokeswoman said: “These are operational matters for our emergency services, whose primary focus is the safety and wellbeing of our firefighters and the communities they serve.”

UFU secretary Peter Marshall did not respond when contacted.

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