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Fireys to vote on taking “Failing Trucks” off the road

Fireys to vote on taking failing trucks off the road
The Age Chip Le Grand January 29, 2025 — 5.45am

Melbourne and regional firefighters will vote on whether to take up to 30 trucks off the road in a dramatic escalation of their dispute with the Allan government and Fire Rescue Victoria over what they say is an ageing and dangerously unreliable fleet.

United Firefighters Union boss Peter Marshall said the proposed permanent work bans – to be put to a vote on Wednesday, in the middle of Victoria’s fire season – were unprecedented and, if adopted, would deplete the number of trucks available by 15 per cent.

The firefighters’ union estimates that 42 per cent of the Fire Rescue Victoria fleet is past its 15-year replacement date.

“It is a state of emergency,” Marshall said on Tuesday. “This is not firefighters putting the community at risk, this is firefighters not having the equipment to do the job.”

The move comes after the union last year failed to secure agreement for an independent audit of Victoria’s estimated fleet of 200 trucks and servicing records through the Fair Work Commission. The union is separately locked in a protracted wage dispute with Fire Rescue Victoria and the government, currently before the Federal Court.

Fire Rescue Commissioner Gavin Freeman urged against the proposed ban.

He said there were established procedures in place for firefighters to report concerns about faulty equipment, and Fire Rescue Victoria would not return the road trucks taken out of service for repairs until they were safe and fully operational.

Chaotic scene greets firefighters at Truganina house fire at 1:05am

Firefighters were left with no water to douse this blaze after the pump failed on their truck.

“When critical issues are reported, they are actioned swiftly,” he said. “We do not hesitate to take a fire truck out of service when required.

“It would be disappointing if industrial bodies put blanket bans on fire appliances.”

The Bureau of Meteorology, meanwhile, is forecasting high temperatures in Victoria’s north and west at the weekend, with 40-degree days possible next week across much of the state.

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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