Arabic version: وورك سيف تحقق في أسطول صهاريج CFA المتقادم

According to ABC News, WorkSafe Victoria is making inquiries into the safety of the Country Fire Authority’s aging truck fleet after the CFA Volunteers Group requested an investigation in May. The regulator said inspectors were conducting ongoing inquiries to ensure health and safety risks were being adequately addressed as the fire season approaches.

WorkSafe inspectors have met CFA authorities at the organisation’s Melbourne headquarters and visited several regional Victorian brigades. The CFA is reportedly supplying information and facilitating access to appliances and documents. The CFA Volunteers Group says single-cab tankers require urgent replacement, arguing they pose risks to volunteers travelling in the cab and on the back of the vehicles.

Single-cab tankers carry three crew members inside, compared with modern dual-cab tankers, which can accommodate up to six. CFA Volunteers Group president John Houston said repeated requests for improved funding and equipment had not produced a response. He said the group believed the fleet concerns required independent scrutiny.

Data supplied by the group showed 225 new primary tankers were registered to regional brigades between 2016 and 2025, compared with 453 delivered in the previous 10 years. About 1,400 primary tankers are distributed across 1,209 regional and peri-urban brigades. A Victorian government spokesperson said funding had increased year-on-year and that a new truck was rolling out every four days.

The oldest tanker in CFA service is the Muckatah Brigade’s two-wheel-drive, single-cab vehicle, built in July 1989. Captain Glen Hamson said a pump failure late last year put it out of service for four or five months. The tanker is not used for strike-team duties, and Mr Hamson said no clear replacement timeframe had been specified.