Tuesday December 8 2009
Is Victoria Fire Ready?
Six weeks into bushfire season no Neighbourhood Safer Places have been established, despite
being recommended by the 2009 Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission Interim Report.
Today dozens of concerned residents from the Dandenong Ranges Bushfire Community
Group, allied community groups and the United Firefighters Union will rally outside
Parliament in response to a State Government dragging its heels on fire protection. The
groups are calling for the speedy provision of Neighbourhood Safer Places (NSPs) to protect
their community from the ravages of bushfire.
The UFU supports the community in their efforts to improve safety in high risk areas, such as
the Dandenong Ranges. The Royal Commission recommendations have bi-partisan support
and yet not a single NSP has been established since recommended in August. Instead, the
State Government has passed the buck to local council - shifting the cost and the
responsibility.
The UFU is concerned that the recommendations of the Royal Commission will not be
implemented, just as recommendations from previous Inquiries, including the 1997
Dandenong Ranges Fires Inquest, have been left to gather dust, only to resurface as fresh
recommendations at the next Inquiry.
This is not the first time the Government has ignored recommendations about fire safety. The
UFU is also urging the government to properly consider an Independent Board of Reference
Decision in April, which found that communities in 24 locations throughout Victoria required
additional professional firefighters to support volunteers in order to meet service delivery
standards and protect the community.
Mapping those 24 locations against the 52 high bushfire risk area or hotspots, indicates a
strong relationship between the areas identified at high risk (the Hotspots) and those areas
where CFA Fire Stations are not meeting service delivery standards. Of those 52 hotspots, the
Board recommended that 34 be covered by additional professional firefighters. In other
words, 2 out of 3 hotspots identified would have mitigated risk by implementing this decision.
In the case of the Dandenong Ranges, this would mean Integrated Fire Stations established with
professional firefighters supporting volunteers in Rowville, Narre Warren and Pakenham.
Its time the Government started matching its rhetoric with action and took both the Royal
Commission and the Independent Board of Reference Decisions seriously. We need proper
fire refuges and a properly resourced fire brigade to fight what Premier Brumby has rightly
identified as one of the most severe fire seasons. Community Safety is a right and it shouldn’t
require people to rally on the steps of Parliament to be taken seriously.
More Firefighters, Not Less.
Media Contact
Dave Hamilton, President, United Firefighters Union
0409 388 721
Greg Pargeter, Senior Industrial Officer, United Firefighters Union
0425 790 676
Community Action
Where: State Parliament
When: 1PM Today
What: Demanding fire protection now!
NEWS 
