FRV unable to fight grass fires: Outer Melbourne and regional city homes at risk
Families living in Melbourne’s burgeoning outer suburbs could be at greater risk from serious blazes this summer, as it’s revealed Fire Rescue Victoria is missing a vital piece of equipment to fight fast moving grass fires.
Victoria
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Victoria’s new career-only fire service has been left without the tankers they need to fight grass fires this season.
CFA career firefighters who, along with their 38 stations, were merged with the MFB to form Fire Rescue Victoria, have told The Weekly Times the service is in disarray, leaving homes on the outskirts of Melbourne and regional cities at risk.
“If we get another Mickleham or Kilmore grass fire you’ll see (FRV) pumpers sitting on the side of the road waiting for volunteers,” one career firefighter said.
He said FRV’s pumpers could not be taken off road to fight fast-moving grass fires and more importantly could not pump water and move at the same time.
“You have to engage the gear box to run the pump,” the FRV firefighter said. “So once you engage the pump, you can’t move.”
He explained pumpers were designed to tap into an urban hydrant and pump water on to stationary structural fires, not race around paddocks to fight grass fires.
FRV pumpers are also unable to protect firefighters, given they have no crew spray protection.
Another regional northern Victorian FRV firefighter said former CFA career staff were frustrated with FRV’s Melbourne headquarter’s dismissal of their concerns.
“We’re not being listened to, and it’s concerning for urban grassfires,” the officer said. “We can’t always get volunteers to respond in the middle of the day and it’s getting more difficult.”
Much of the justification for creating FRV was based on the Andrews Government’s and the United Firefighters Union’s claim that taking over the CFA’s integrated stations would deliver a more professional service with improved response times.
In the midst of the 2017 debate on carving up the fire services the UFU launched a campaign titled “Fire Doesn’t Wait For Slow Response Times”, telling Victorians “because of extensive urban growth, and based on performance data, your area is in need of urgent fire service reform to improve community protection”.
But the reality is former CFA career firefighters, who are now employed by FRV, say they feel like the whole process has been an MFB takeover, rather that a merger of staff and systems.
Former CFA career staff say FRV is adopting MFB training and response systems, refusing to recognise the value of 75 years of CFA skills and knowledge in fighting a diverse range of fires.
Even FRV’s leadership is concerned at the impact of the CFA carve up.
On September 23 The Weekly Times reported on a memo drafted by FRV Deputy Commissioner Gavin Freeman’s office that stated “Fire Rescue Victoria has no capacity to adequately respond to our bushfire risk within the FRV primary areas or adjoining CFA Districts in the regional locations”.
The memo recommended FRV “loan” 12 of the CFA’s elite 4WD heavy tankers on days when the fire danger index exceeds 35, anywhere from 40 to 60 days during summer and early autumn to protect Wodonga, Wangaratta, Shepparton, Traralgon, Morwell, Latrobe West, Mildura, Bendigo, Ballarat City, Lucas, Warrnambool and Portland”.
At the time FRV Commissioner Ken Block responded to The Weekly Times report by issuing a bulletin to all staff stating his service had “a number of pumper tankers that it will make available for strike team capability based on any increased risk over the summer, at the request of CFA”.
Yet Deputy Commissioner Gavin Freeman’s original memo warned these older ex-MFB pumper tankers “do not have protection” and have “limited pump and roll capability”.
However this week an FRV spokesman said the service fleet of pumper tankers could enter paddocks “when it is safe to do so and pump water onto a grass fire while they are in motion”.
“Longstanding emergency response arrangements remain unchanged and FRV and CFA can request resourcing and support from each other when required,” the FRV spokesman said.
Another recent FRV bulletin has warned its firefighters they must “only drive/operate FRV vehicles” and “the use of any CFA appliances or vehicles including tankers, ground observer vehicles, forward command vehicles will not be permitted”.
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