Shock CFA changes
Volunteer firefighters from Trafalgar and Westbury brigades have been left stunned after district boundaries were changed without consultation.
Latrobe West Fire Brigade in Moe will be transferred to the new Fire Rescue Victoria (FRV) service and is set to take over CFA areas, including parts of the Trafalgar township and a majority of Westbury. Full story
Volunteer firefighters from Trafalgar and Westbury brigades have been left stunned after district boundaries were changed without consultation.
Latrobe West Fire Brigade in Moe will be transferred to the new Fire Rescue Victoria (FRV) service and is set to take over CFA areas, including parts of the Trafalgar township and a majority of Westbury.
Westbury Fire Brigade captain David Gridley added, “we will not even be called if our own fire station was on fire”.
Neither Mr Gridley nor Trafalgar captain Danny Mynard have received any notification of boundaries changes despite it coming into effect tomorrow.
Shadow Emergency Services Minister Nick Wakeling and Member for Narracan Gary Blackwood slammed the State Government’s stealth as they attended the Trafalgar Fire Station on Thursday.
Mr Wakeling said volunteers, some who had given decades of service, felt deeply let down by the lack of consultation and lack of respect just months after people around the world lauded the work of our CFA volunteers during the bushfire crisis.
“Here we are, the middle of the year, is the government thanking our volunteers, are they supporting our volunteers? No. They are being sidelined and ignored,” Mr Wakeling said.
Mr Blackwood said the legislation to change boundaries had not yet been passed by state parliament and was set to come up in August. Yet the changes are coming into force tomorrow.
He said local brigades had years of experience, local knowledge and appropriate equipment to cater for a farming community.
“It’s just not fair and we’re not going to sit back and let it happen,” said Mr Blackwood.
The two brigades believe the new boundary is based on an archaic eight-minute response time from Latrobe West’s temporary station in Moe.
Despite being closer and its 93-year history of protecting the township, the Trafalgar brigade understand it will no longer be called first to attend code three (non life-threatening) calls east of Anzac Rd. Trafalgar, consisting of about 60 members, will still be called to support code one (life-threatening) calls in this area.
Westbury brigade, with a strong membership of 45, caters for a rural area incorporating Willow Grove, Tanjil South and Trafalgar East. Essentially the brigade, which celebrated its 75th year in 2019, has lost areas with a majority of infrastructure, including its own fire station.
Former Trafalgar captain and district nine state councillor Darren Wallace labelled the eight-minute response boundary system as “flawed” and “old school from the 50s”.
“Ultimately it’s going to deliver a poorer service standard in parts of Trafalgar. It’s the old adage, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”
Mr Mynard said they were invited to an initial meeting about FRV changes on January 29. They left with a promise it would not affect the brigade.
However, both captains have heard nothing since, had no chance to have input into boundaries and received no response when they sought answers from command last week.
They were keen to highlight the brilliant work done by Latrobe West staff and want to work together to protect the community.
Mr Gridley also emphasised the important role CFA volunteers play in fire education and prevention.
“It’s our community we are concerned about. The best community education comes from the local CFA.”
Mr Wakeling believes more career stations would deny local brigades the chance to respond to calls and an uphill battle to recruit and retain volunteers.
“I don’t want to see a volunteer leave the CFA,” he said.
With Trafalgar and Westbury contributing at least 25 members to the firefighting efforts in East Gippsland and NSW over summer, there are also concerns FRV changes could impact responses to “the next Mallacoota”.
Westbury had two members in a strike team working for 28 hours straight to protect the NSW town of Wairewa on New Year’s Eve. This town lost about a third of its homes.
The brigade returned to run a community event in March, raising $25,000 for this affected community.
This “brotherhood” of volunteers across the nation is too important to risk, he said.