❓ Mr. Alban inquires about the benefits of the Automated Vehicle Location System (AVL) for firefighters' safety in his electorate and across WA. The Minister details how the AVL system enhances crew protection, asset coordination, fatigue management, and resource utilization through GPS tracking and duress features.
AnsweredQoN 774Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
FIREFIGHTING VEHICLES — AUTOMATED VEHICLE
LOCATION SYSTEM UNITS
774. Mr F.A. ALBAN to the Minister for
Emergency Services:
I read with interest that recently
the minister launched the first of the automated vehicle location system units
to be installed in over 700 fire appliances. Can he please advise the house how
this system will increase safety for firefighters in my electorate and across
the state?
LOCATION SYSTEM UNITS
774. Mr F.A. ALBAN to the Minister for
Emergency Services:
I read with interest that recently
the minister launched the first of the automated vehicle location system units
to be installed in over 700 fire appliances. Can he please advise the house how
this system will increase safety for firefighters in my electorate and across
the state?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member for Swan Hills
for the question and I thank him for his interest in and continued support for
the volunteer firefighters in his electorate. I have said on numerous occasions
that this government is committed to making whatever changes it can that will
make a practical difference to our ability to combat fire going into what will
obviously be another fire season with a lot of challenges. Key to many of the
recommendations and areas for improvement outlined in Mr Ferguson's
report was the installation of automatic vehicle location systems—GPS
tracking, if you will—in fire trucks. That is why I am very pleased to
update the house that last week we installed the first units in the first of
the state's fire truck fleet. We expect to have a minimum of 700 trucks
installed with AVL, or GPS tracking, by December—the majority of the
trucks across the state. We will obviously concentrate on installing them in
the trucks in the higher risk areas as a priority—no doubt the south
west and around the area of the member for Swan Hills' electorate and
the Perth hills, because it is important that we concentrate on those areas
first. On top of that, we will also have portable units for vehicles such as
loaders, bulldozers, council vehicles and farmers' vehicles that, for
whatever reason, have to go inside a fire area, so we will be able to keep
track of them.
As part of our crew protection
upgrades, GPS tracking and AVL, it provides a number of benefits. The first is
protection for the crews. There will be a duress button, even in the portable
ones, so that if a fire truck or whatever it is that has the device installed
in it gets into trouble, crew members can press a button and the incident
control team will know that they are in trouble and exactly where they are.
These devices transmit not just over the 3G network, which does not always work
in regional Western Australia—we appreciate that—so, if that
fails, they will default to the satellite network, which has a footprint that
covers the entire state. So, firstly, it provides added crew protection. We
will know exactly where a crew is if they get into trouble. Secondly, it ticks
the box for asset coordination. If we can imagine being the incident
controller, they will know exactly where all their fire trucks are and where
all their crews are at any given time. They will be able to have a real-time
picture painted in front of them as to where they are, concentrated. They will
know better where the fire front is at any given time, in real time. That will
provide a force multiplier, if you will. It will provide a much better
opportunity for them to concentrate resources exactly where they are needed on
a fireground.
It
will better manage crew fatigue and catering. One of the ongoing complaints
that we see come out every fire season is that there was not enough food for
the firefighters, or someone spent too long on the fireground without being
relieved. We will know exactly where they are. In fact, we can geo-fence a certain
geographical area and we will know when a fire truck goes into that area and when
it comes out, and it will send off alerts in front of that.
Lastly, it will allow us to better
coordinate all our assets. It will make the community safer. It will give us a significant
advantage in being able to utilise all the fire trucks across the state in a much
safer manner and a much more coordinated manner. We are committed to not just
crew protection, but better use of resources, and we are getting on with the
job. As I said, the majority of fire trucks will have these installed by
December.
for the question and I thank him for his interest in and continued support for
the volunteer firefighters in his electorate. I have said on numerous occasions
that this government is committed to making whatever changes it can that will
make a practical difference to our ability to combat fire going into what will
obviously be another fire season with a lot of challenges. Key to many of the
recommendations and areas for improvement outlined in Mr Ferguson's
report was the installation of automatic vehicle location systems—GPS
tracking, if you will—in fire trucks. That is why I am very pleased to
update the house that last week we installed the first units in the first of
the state's fire truck fleet. We expect to have a minimum of 700 trucks
installed with AVL, or GPS tracking, by December—the majority of the
trucks across the state. We will obviously concentrate on installing them in
the trucks in the higher risk areas as a priority—no doubt the south
west and around the area of the member for Swan Hills' electorate and
the Perth hills, because it is important that we concentrate on those areas
first. On top of that, we will also have portable units for vehicles such as
loaders, bulldozers, council vehicles and farmers' vehicles that, for
whatever reason, have to go inside a fire area, so we will be able to keep
track of them.
As part of our crew protection
upgrades, GPS tracking and AVL, it provides a number of benefits. The first is
protection for the crews. There will be a duress button, even in the portable
ones, so that if a fire truck or whatever it is that has the device installed
in it gets into trouble, crew members can press a button and the incident
control team will know that they are in trouble and exactly where they are.
These devices transmit not just over the 3G network, which does not always work
in regional Western Australia—we appreciate that—so, if that
fails, they will default to the satellite network, which has a footprint that
covers the entire state. So, firstly, it provides added crew protection. We
will know exactly where a crew is if they get into trouble. Secondly, it ticks
the box for asset coordination. If we can imagine being the incident
controller, they will know exactly where all their fire trucks are and where
all their crews are at any given time. They will be able to have a real-time
picture painted in front of them as to where they are, concentrated. They will
know better where the fire front is at any given time, in real time. That will
provide a force multiplier, if you will. It will provide a much better
opportunity for them to concentrate resources exactly where they are needed on
a fireground.
It
will better manage crew fatigue and catering. One of the ongoing complaints
that we see come out every fire season is that there was not enough food for
the firefighters, or someone spent too long on the fireground without being
relieved. We will know exactly where they are. In fact, we can geo-fence a certain
geographical area and we will know when a fire truck goes into that area and when
it comes out, and it will send off alerts in front of that.
Lastly, it will allow us to better
coordinate all our assets. It will make the community safer. It will give us a significant
advantage in being able to utilise all the fire trucks across the state in a much
safer manner and a much more coordinated manner. We are committed to not just
crew protection, but better use of resources, and we are getting on with the
job. As I said, the majority of fire trucks will have these installed by
December.
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