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Dandenong Factory Fire Demonstrates the Urgent Need to Upgrade the Fire Rescue Victoria Fleet!

MEDIA RELEASE
December 2023

A massive Dandenong factory fire that killed one worker and injured four people, including two firefighters, has demonstrated the urgent need to upgrade Fire Rescue Victoria’s (FRV) outdated fleet of firefighting appliances.

A key firefighting appliance, a 20-year-old ultra-large pumper specifically requested to produce firefighting foam to manage the incident, malfunctioned, producing only half a tank of foam and emitting toxic black smoke, impacting nearby firefighters’ health. Additionally, Dandenong’s ladder platform, a critical specialist appliance required for fighting large-scale fires or fires in tall buildings, was not available to attend the factory fire, as it was sent away to Traralgon to cover for the breakdown of the ladder platform there.

United Firefighters Union Victorian Branch Secretary Peter Marshall said the incident demonstrated the urgent need to upgrade FRV’s outdated firefighting appliances.

“Almost half of FRV’s Melbourne firefighting appliances are outdated, which means more breakdowns, more malfunctions and more incidents where professional firefighters can’t rely on their equipment when needed”

“At Dandenong, the 20-year-old ultra-large firefighting pumper was specifically requested to produce foam to control a massive chemical fire that threatened to impact nearby properties and the community’s safety”

“But instead of delivering the firefighting foam firefighters desperately needed to control the blaze, this outdated pumper malfunctioned”

“Not only were firefighters unable to produce any further foam, but the appliance began producing toxic black smoke itself, which firefighters had no choice but to work beside for seven hours”

Firefighting appliances such as this ultra-large pumper should be replaced after 15 years, but this firefighting appliance is over 20 years old.

“That’s why we’re calling on the Victorian Government to urgently replace these outdated trucks which threaten firefighter and community safety.” In a video recorded at the scene of the Dandenong factory fire, FRV Station Officer Breanne Geyle explained how the malfunctioning truck was undermining firefighting operations and impacting the health of nearby firefighters.

The UFU acknowledges Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the Traditional Custodians of the land, and we pay our respect to their Elders, past and present.

The UFU supports the call of First Nations peoples for a Voice to Parliament to be enshrined in the Constitution.

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