Gorae West Fire Brigade received a major boost to its firefighting fleet today as the Member for Western Victoria, Gayle Tierney, handed over the keys to two new tankers.
Ms Tierney said the new vehicles would significantly improve the brigade’s firefighting capability.
“The tankers will provide quicker response times and give the firefighters better access to fires in remote areas,” Ms Tierney said.
“With the fire season approaching, these new assets will be a welcome addition to the brigade.”
The Ultra Light Tanker’s primary role is to perform a first-response capability to spot fires that prove difficult to access with larger vehicles.
It is also designed to support back burning operations, and mopping up and patrolling duties.
The $125,000 Ultra Light Tanker was funded through the 2009 Victorian Bushfire Response and Recovery Initiative.
As part of the initiative, the Victorian Government allocated $10.3 million for the purchase of 42 Ultra Light Tankers across the State.
The new 1.2.4D Light Tanker has a 1200-litre capacity and is fitted with radiant heat shields that provide crew protection in the event of a burn-over situation.
The $185,000 tanker was funded through the State Government’s Community Safety Emergency Support Program (CSESP).
Ms Tierney said the program helps build on successful partnerships between communities, volunteers, emergency services agencies and the government.
Gorae West Fire Brigade, formed in 1946, has a current strength of 76 members and averages 21 call-outs each year.
“Gorae West Fire Brigade has a long and proud tradition of providing a vital service to the local community in keeping it safe from the threat of bushfire,” Ms Tierney said.
“On behalf of all Victorians I would like to thank the members of Gorae West Fire Brigade for their service to their community.”
“We recognise the extraordinary skills, dedication and community mindedness of our volunteers,” she said.
“The brigade holds a great sense of pride and satisfaction in protecting not only its own community, but in recent times it has served across the state.”
Gorae West Fire Brigade has recently played a key role in major incidents, including deploying personnel to the Churchill, Whittlesea, Kinglake, Beechworth and Alexandra areas on Black Saturday.
“The State Government values the important work of Victoria’s emergency services and is committed to ensuring that they have all the necessary resources to perform their role,” Ms Tierney said.
“Accordingly, this year’s Budget delivered a $136.6 million boost to Victoria’s emergency services, underlining the state government’s commitment to bushfire preparation and response.”
State Budget funding allocated $35.4 million for personnel training at Incident Control Centres, $28.5 million to upgrade and improve bushfire warnings and upgrade intelligence gathering, and $41.8 million for CFA to help communities better prepare themselves for the bushfire season.
Ms Tierney said the State Government was also spending $9.2 million employing 18 additional CFA personnel to train local brigades to support and advise private landowners, local councils and government agencies on vegetation management.