MFB and CFA response times kept secret for almost a year, despite government ‘transparency’ promise

The response times of Victoria’s fire services have been kept secret for almost a year despite the Andrews Government vowing to release the data every three months to improve transparency.

The response times of Victoria’s fire services have been kept secret for almost a year despite the Andrews Government vowing to release the data every three months to improve transparency.

The data, showing how long it takes MFB and CFA brigades to respond to fires, was first released in October 2017 as the government talked up the public’s “right to know”.

But response times have not been published since the figures from January to March last year were revealed in May.

The Herald Sun understands concerns about the CFA’s response times have contributed to the decision not to publish the data, a process which is handled by the government.

WHERE YOU’LL WAIT THE LONGEST FOR A FIRE TRUCK

COUNTRY FIRE CREWS LATE FOR MAJORITY OF CALLS

HI-TECH AMBULANCE AID TO ‘PREDICT’ EMERGENCIES

Response time figures have not been released since March last year. Picture: Steve Tanner

Opposition emergency services spokesman Brad Battin said it was “yet another example of Labor being caught out hiding information from the public and refusing to be transparent with the community, despite an explicit commitment to do”.

“(Emergency Services Minister) Lisa Neville must immediately release the missing past three-quarters of fire service response data and explain why Labor has failed to keep their promise,” Mr Battin said.

The Herald Sun sent questions about why the data had not been released to Ms Neville but a government spokeswoman only responded to say that it was important and would be published in “coming weeks”.

When the government first announced response times would be published every quarter, it said this was part of its “commitment to greater transparency”, and then minister James Merlino accused the former Liberal government of hiding response times.

A spokeswoman for Emergency Services Minister Lisa Neville said the data would be released within weeks.

The most recent data, released last May, showed MFB crews responded to 95.8 per cent of structure fires within 7.7 minutes — better than the 90 per cent target set by the government.

But the government criticised the “great variance” in the response times of CFA crews.

While 88 per cent of fires in significant urban areas were met within eight minutes, the station-by-station results ranged between 31 per cent and 100 per cent.

Mr Merlino said at the time: “This isn’t good enough ... Our fire services are still organised in a way that worked in the 1950s but doesn’t work today.”

The government had used the data as it pushed to overhaul the fire services, creating a new agency called Fire Rescue Victoria and leaving only volunteer firefighters in the CFA.

The reforms were controversially voted down in Parliament last year but the government is expected to push for the changes to pass in the coming months.

[e-mail]

@tminear

MORE HERALD SUN NEWS ON FIRE SERVICES:

CFA CHIEF URGED TO TAKE LEAVE IN FIRE SEASON

MFB FACES $30 MILLION OVERTIME BILL

DRIVE TO RECRUIT WOMEN FIREYS FALLING FAR SHORT