By Raquel Mustillo
DESPITE being one of the busiest Metropolitan Fire Service stations in the state, Mount Gambier residents and firefighters are being let down by having a 20-year-old pumper as its main vehicle, a local government representative says.
Mount Gambier City councillor Paul Jenner has spearheaded a push to attempt to secure one of the eight remaining new heavy urban pump rescue appliances announced by the State Government for the Blue Lake city.
Documents obtained under Freedom of Information and viewed by The Border Watch show the MFS proposed replacement schedule, with the next truck earmarked for Mount Gambier a 11-year-old appliance from Seaford.
The documents reveal both the main and secondary trucks used by Mount Gambier crews are almost 20 years old – exceeding the optimal age limit by five years.
At this week’s council meeting, a visibly agitated Cr Jenner told the chamber that although the State Government had rolled out the first of its 12 new state-of-the-art firefighting trucks, none have been allocated to Mount Gambier.
“The Premier [Steven Marshall] announced three new Scania’s all going to Adelaide and one to Mount Barker,” he said.
“What is happening behind the scenes is Seaford received one of the strategically positioned new units and its 11-year-old unit is currently being refurbished to come down to Mount Gambier.”
The agencies’ 2019/20 performance report shows the Mount Gambier station attended 439 incidents, including responding to 230 more incidents than Mount Barker crews and 149 more than Seaford.
However, Mount Barker and Seaford are among two locations that have received the first of 12 state-of-the-art heavy urban pump rescue trucks.
“Mount Barker didn’t get an old vehicle – they got a brand new one, so why is Mount Gambier completely missed and we keep on getting second hand stuff?,” Cr Jenner said.
“I’m lead to believe the MFS has a plan for changing over new trucks and that plan only includes the metro.
“How come Mount Barker, which isn’t metro, get one?
“Why are the people of Mount Gambier treated like second class citizens?
“They don’t care about Mount Gambier and that’s the problem.”
United Firefighters Union South Australia secretary Max Adlam backed Cr Jenner’s comments, saying she was not aware of any asset renewal plan for regional South Australia.
Ms Adlam the government had failed to provide the MFS with a sustainable base of capital funding to facilitate an appropriate asset maintenance and replacement regime.
She said the 2019/20 MFS annual report acknowledges the requirement to replace 30pc of the entire fleet, with 25 general pumpers needing urgent replacement within two years.
“We don’t see any proper planning and what we have seen over the years is having to go cap in hand if you want to replace a truck that has passed the government’s standard of 15 years,” Ms Adlam said.
“The budget papers are showing a real concern whereby the government are dropping the amounts spent on vehicles to a real peppercorn amount.
“Even though I’m told Mount Gambier is the busiest station in the region, they still get an old appliance because it’s a smaller community, maybe no one will pick up on it and maybe people will believe the government’s rubbish about how much they’re spending in the service.”
Cr Jenner said there was deep concern among MFS crews regarding units exceeding optimal age limits, with the secondary vehicle also nearing its 20th anniversary.
He said the secondary truck had replaced a 12-year-old Volvo pumper which was currently in Adelaide undergoing repairs after it “kept breaking down”.
“That truck should have never left Adelaide and never come to Mount Gambier,” Cr Jenner said.
“For some reason, someone either in MFS or SAFECOM senior administration does not want Mount Gambler to have appropriate equipment… or it is political.
“I do not believe it is political, so I ask the Premier and Minister to call an urgent investigation in to where units are going on a state basis to stop the rot.”
Former retained MFS firefighter and Cr Steven Perryman said the asset maintenance and replacement issue was endemic in Mount Gambier, adding the Scania truck currently in use was delivered to the region in the early 2000s.
“This isn’t an old issue, this has been a constant issue for the Mount Gambier community and Mount Gambier fire station,” he said.
“In the year 2000, we had a ladder truck and another old pumper that were from the late 70s or early 80s.
“We haven’t been treated fairly for decades and this is another example of it continuing.”
Elected members were unanimous in supporting Cr Jenner’s motion to urgently write to Emergency Services Minister Vincent Tarzia seeking to upgrade the city’s ageing fleet of trucks.
In a statement, the MFS said it progressively rotates fire trucks throughout the fleet to “maximise the life of appliances”.
“MFS appliances are given a mid-life refurbishment / rebuild which extends their operational response life significantly and therefore the value to the South Australian community,” the statement said.
“The MFS is continually reviewing its current appliance fleet to ensure firefighters can respond to an incident in an effective, safe and timely manner.”
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