❓ The Minister for Emergency Services addresses concerns about fire crew protection, highlighting government progress in upgrading firefighting vehicles and prioritizing high-risk areas. The Minister also contrasts current fleet conditions with past conditions, praising previous ministers' efforts.
AnsweredQoN 718Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
FIRE AND
EMERGENCY SERVICES — FIRE CREW PROTECTION
718. MR N.W. MORTON to the
Minister for Emergency Services:
In light of alarmist media headlines
and claims of government delays in providing crew protection systems to our
firefighting appliances, can the minister advise the house on how the Department
of Fire and Emergency Services is acting on the government's election
commitments in this regard?
EMERGENCY SERVICES — FIRE CREW PROTECTION
718. MR N.W. MORTON to the
Minister for Emergency Services:
In light of alarmist media headlines
and claims of government delays in providing crew protection systems to our
firefighting appliances, can the minister advise the house on how the Department
of Fire and Emergency Services is acting on the government's election
commitments in this regard?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member for Forrestfield
for the brilliant question. We are getting on with the job of increasing
protection to volunteer firefighters and career firefighters across Western
Australia. There are almost 1 000 firefighting vehicles in the fleet, of which
667 are in medium to high-risk areas. We will prioritise those areas first,
including areas in the electorates of the member for Forrestfield and the
member for Albany. This is a complicated task. It is a very detailed
undertaking to provide retrospective custom-fitted mechanical equipment to over
25 different types of vehicles. For example, it is not only the internal
radiant heat shields that are being rolled out, but also the heat lagging that
will protect critical components, such as transmission lines, fuel tanks,
communication lines and external audio systems to the crew outside the fire
trucks so that if they are standing at the back of the truck and a pump is
running and a red-flag alert is broadcast over the radio, they will be able to
hear it. All these things need to be done. There are over 25 different types of
trucks. We are getting on with doing that job. In a perfect world, we would
magically wave a wand and do them all at once, but it just cannot be done.
It is worth noting that this does not mean that our fire
trucks are unsafe. We are just doing that little extra over and above to make
sure that our firefighters are even more protected. I cannot talk about the
safety of fire trucks without talking about the age of the fire trucks. Fire
trucks, like anything else, have a use-by date. For the information of members,
a tanker has an expected use-by date of about 16 years and a light tanker has
an expected use-by date of about 10 years. I think it is worth looking at the
history of fire trucks and those that are past their use-by date. In 2007–08,
15 per cent of the entire fleet was past its use-by date. As members can see,
now not a single fire truck in the fleet is older than its use-by date.
Something magical happened here. With all due respect, I will give credit where
it is deserved. When the member for Hillarys was the minister, he did a
brilliant job.
Several members interjected.
The
SPEAKER : Thank you!
Mr
J.M. FRANCIS : When the member for Hillarys was the minister, he made sure
that we got on with that. When the member for Vasse was the minister, he made
sure that we got on with updating the fleet. Of course, I do not need to
provide statistics. I can just look at one of the local brigades in my
electorate. The truck in this picture was retired from the fleet only three
years ago. It was the Jandakot nine-tonne tanker. It was over 25 years old. It
spent 16 years with the brigade. It was a former rubbish truck, disposed of by
the City of Cockburn, that had a water tank put on the back. It was converted
to a fire truck in 1994. It was replaced in 2010 with the almost $300 000
appliance in this picture. It is a prototype design, custom-built for
firefighting, not as a rubbish truck. Four of these appliances are now in
service in the metropolitan area, with more being rolled out. The truck in this
picture carries more than 12 tonnes of water, with a seven-tonne collar tank
for aerial firefighting. If the truck in the second picture is a potential
deathtrap, what does the member for Girrawheen call the truck in the first
picture? It would not have even passed a roadworthy test. The truck in this
picture will be our legacy. The truck in the other picture will be her legacy.
She should be ashamed of her comments.
for the brilliant question. We are getting on with the job of increasing
protection to volunteer firefighters and career firefighters across Western
Australia. There are almost 1 000 firefighting vehicles in the fleet, of which
667 are in medium to high-risk areas. We will prioritise those areas first,
including areas in the electorates of the member for Forrestfield and the
member for Albany. This is a complicated task. It is a very detailed
undertaking to provide retrospective custom-fitted mechanical equipment to over
25 different types of vehicles. For example, it is not only the internal
radiant heat shields that are being rolled out, but also the heat lagging that
will protect critical components, such as transmission lines, fuel tanks,
communication lines and external audio systems to the crew outside the fire
trucks so that if they are standing at the back of the truck and a pump is
running and a red-flag alert is broadcast over the radio, they will be able to
hear it. All these things need to be done. There are over 25 different types of
trucks. We are getting on with doing that job. In a perfect world, we would
magically wave a wand and do them all at once, but it just cannot be done.
It is worth noting that this does not mean that our fire
trucks are unsafe. We are just doing that little extra over and above to make
sure that our firefighters are even more protected. I cannot talk about the
safety of fire trucks without talking about the age of the fire trucks. Fire
trucks, like anything else, have a use-by date. For the information of members,
a tanker has an expected use-by date of about 16 years and a light tanker has
an expected use-by date of about 10 years. I think it is worth looking at the
history of fire trucks and those that are past their use-by date. In 2007–08,
15 per cent of the entire fleet was past its use-by date. As members can see,
now not a single fire truck in the fleet is older than its use-by date.
Something magical happened here. With all due respect, I will give credit where
it is deserved. When the member for Hillarys was the minister, he did a
brilliant job.
Several members interjected.
The
SPEAKER : Thank you!
Mr
J.M. FRANCIS : When the member for Hillarys was the minister, he made sure
that we got on with that. When the member for Vasse was the minister, he made
sure that we got on with updating the fleet. Of course, I do not need to
provide statistics. I can just look at one of the local brigades in my
electorate. The truck in this picture was retired from the fleet only three
years ago. It was the Jandakot nine-tonne tanker. It was over 25 years old. It
spent 16 years with the brigade. It was a former rubbish truck, disposed of by
the City of Cockburn, that had a water tank put on the back. It was converted
to a fire truck in 1994. It was replaced in 2010 with the almost $300 000
appliance in this picture. It is a prototype design, custom-built for
firefighting, not as a rubbish truck. Four of these appliances are now in
service in the metropolitan area, with more being rolled out. The truck in this
picture carries more than 12 tonnes of water, with a seven-tonne collar tank
for aerial firefighting. If the truck in the second picture is a potential
deathtrap, what does the member for Girrawheen call the truck in the first
picture? It would not have even passed a roadworthy test. The truck in this
picture will be our legacy. The truck in the other picture will be her legacy.
She should be ashamed of her comments.
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