With the lives lost on the roads hitting a record high, firefighters are forced to choose between putting their lives at risk or depriving their community of a lifesaving service.
Melton firefighters were recently asked to utilise an unsafe spare rescue truck after their usual rescue truck nearly went up in flames due to an electrical fault.
This spare truck has had many safety notices raised against it, including outdated equipment, inadequate brakes, and at times has broken down in the middle of busy intersections. It seemed that this truck, designed to rescue people from car accidents, was more likely to cause one itself.
Firefighters made the right decision and refused to operate this truck; but in the end it didn’t matter, because true to form the truck broke down before it could be put into use.
This has left a gaping hole in the road rescue response in Melbourne’s growing western suburbs. With the replacement for Melton’s rescue truck nearly two years behind schedule it’s likely this situation will only get worse. Gavin Freeman would rather spend $2 million in 3 months taking firefighters to court and attempting to strip their conditions of employment than ensure they have the right resources to protect the community.
90.85% of FRV have No Confidence in Gavin Freeman, Tony Matthews and Tom McPherson, Minister Vicki ward must act before the public lose confidence in FRV.
