Fire Rescue Victoria has refused to address concerns that the metropolitan station to which it is proposing to allocate a new pumper platform appliance instead of Shepparton does not have any crew able to use it.
The new truck — which would increase Shepparton’s aerial firefighting and rescue capacity significantly — requires specific training in order to be operated.
But prior to this training program, crew members need to secure accreditation in order to take part.
State Member for Northern Victoria Wendy Lovell said that no-one at the Sunshine station — where FRV intends to send the truck which was originally allocated to Shepparton — currently holds this accreditation.
“The decision to send the pumper platform to Sunshine does not make any sense, when firefighters stationed at Sunshine have not been trained to operate the vehicle, and do not even hold the prerequisite accreditations that are needed before pumper platform training can begin,” Ms Lovell said.
“It beggars belief that this truck will sit idle for months, waiting until Sunshine firefighters are trained to operate it, when all firefighters in Shepparton are trained and ready to start operating the truck today.”
The News also understands that there are up to seven pumper platforms with capabilities similar to the new trucks within an hour and 10 minutes of the Sunshine station.
Shepparton’s closest help for fighting fires at similar heights to the new truck is in Bendigo.
The News contacted FRV on Tuesday, September 10, to provide an opportunity to address these claims.
Questions included those surrounding how many members of the Sunshine station are accredited or trained in using the new pumper platforms, how long the accreditation and training process is, when the truck is expected to be operational in Sunshine — if a committee ratifies the re-allocation decision — and how many pumper platforms are stationed within a reasonable proximity of Sunshine.
FRV declined the opportunity, instead referring The News to comments sent late on Thursday, September 5 — where it declared that Shepparton was “well protected”.
In the meantime, Shepparton’s current aerial pumper has broken down twice — once on Friday as reported by The News and again on Monday, with mechanics needing up to four hours to bring it back online following the latter incident.
“Shepparton was deemed to be at highest risk, which is why the truck was allocated to Shepparton Fire Station, but now we are left with a vehicle that has broken down twice in four days, and is incapable of performing rescues at height,” Ms Lovell said.
“Allowing this re-direction to happen leaves our community exposed, and only reinforces that the Allan Labor Government will always prioritise metropolitan Melbourne over regional Victorian communities.”