Mount Burr CFS soon to receive new truck

REPLACEMENT TRUCK: The ageing Mount Burr Country Fire Service truck will be replaced in coming months.

By Raquel Mustillo

MOUNT Burr Country Fire Service crews will no longer have to sit at the back of a single cab when fighting fires with a new appliance due to arrive in the coming months.

The ageing single cab truck will be replaced as part of the CFS’s ongoing maintenance program.

The Mount Burr truck is one of the oldest in the Wattle Range Group fleet and sits two people in the front and up to four in the back outside of the cab, providing little protection in the event of a burn over.

Currently, crew members are required to sit on a bench seat in the tray of the truck, roll down a curtain and stick the fire hose outside of the curtain.

Volunteers must not only spray the area in their vicinity but also the cabin in front as there is no spray system around the cabin.

The only protection for volunteers who are inside of the cabin is a blanket.

CFS director operational infrastructure and logistics Lee Watson said the truck will be upgraded “in coming months“ and planning was also underway to replace the Maaoupe and Kalangadoo in the next 18 months.

Mr Watson said Monbulla’s truck replacement will be considered as a part of future planning.

“There are many factors that contribute to determining where and how the CFS replaces trucks, such as the age and condition of a brigade’s current fleet, as well as how often and what type of incidents the brigade attends,” he said.

“We are committed to ensuring that our vehicles are up to an appropriate standard so that our personnel can be safe on the fire ground.“

Mr Watson said the CFS’s operational response vehicle and equipment team had been busy in 2020 due to the large amount of maintenance required to the fleet following the last fire season as well as complications caused by COVID-19.

He said the CFS had replaced 11 trucks in the lower South East as part of the organisation’s ongoing maintenance program.

Wattle Range CFS group officer Fred Stent said the new trucks would provide crew members with more confidence while battling blazes.

“The new trucks will be able to be moved right across the state or even interstate because they are fully encapsulated and they have all of the new safety devices,” he said.

“The new trucks have breathing apparatuses in the cab and it also gives gives them the halo system which replaces the use of hoses.“

Mr Stent said the Penola, Coonawarra and Glencoe brigades received truck upgrades this year, but said there was “nothing wrong with the old trucks”.

“We are only a small piece in the package, but we have not done too badly over the years with our upgrades,” he said.

“The old trucks are still functional, they are still able to do the jobs that they do and they are still safe.”

Mr Stent said the Kalangadoo CFS shed required an upgrade, with the old facility unable to house a new truck.

Earlier this year, the Mount Burr CFS station was upgraded to a two-bay shed and includes a meeting room, toilets and washing facilities.

The previous Mount Burr CFS facility was built in 1973 on Pettman Terrace but became unsuited to larger fire trucks.