Truganina Fire Brigade has welcomed several new trucks to its fleet in time for the upcoming summer fire season to support the growing communities across Melbourne’s West.
Member for Tarneit Sarah Connolly, representing Minister for Police and Emergency Services Lisa Neville, handed over the keys to three new vehicles today, including a new pumper, heavy tanker and field command vehicle (FCV).
The brigade now has its own dedicated pumper to help volunteers respond to a growing number of call outs across the expanding urban fringe.
The Scania Medium Pumper is designed for urban firefighting and traffic accidents and can carry up to five firefighters and their equipment.
The 4.4C heavy tanker, primarily designed for semi-urban and rural environments, will replace the brigade’s old 1986 tanker.
The $70,000 FCV was funded through the state government’s Volunteer Emergency Services Equipment Program (VESEP) in partnership with community fundraising efforts.
The four-wheel-drive, off-road vehicle provides important incident management and resource intelligence capability for emergency call outs and bushfires.
The vehicle’s small size and manoeuvrability means it can quickly get to hard-to-access areas, where other larger firefighting vehicles can’t go.
The volunteer brigade has been proudly supporting Melbourne’s west since 1940 and currently has 76 members.
The government’s investment in new equipment builds on the $7.5 million for the acquisition and construction of two new fire stations for Truganina and neighbouring Wyndham Vale communities.
In the past five years, more than $77 million has been allocated to the VESEP program, with the 2019-20 round of funding offering close to $13.9 million in government contributions.
Quotes attributable to Member for Tarneit, Sarah Connolly MP
“The Victorian Government is committed to providing practical support to our firefighters, both career and volunteers.”
“Truganina Fire Brigade has been protecting the local community and surrounding districts for almost 80 years and deserves the highest calibre of firefighting equipment.”
“We are proud to support the Truganina community and surrounding suburbs through the Volunteer Emergency Services Equipment Program, which provides much-needed operational equipment to volunteer organisations around the state.”
