Mount Barker Pumper

[Mike]

Extract from the Courier (8/2/06)

Rural residents fear loss of CFS cover Wistow properties are at greater risk from bushfire since the CFS hierarchy swapped one of Mt Barker brigade's two rural firefighting appliances for an urban firefighting  appliance, a group of local residents claim.
Spokesman Ian Blight condemned the swap - implemented last week - saying the district's growing population made a rural appliance a greater priority. "Out at Wistow there's increasing need for rural fire  appliances because there's more smaller farms and houses and things like that and more properties to protect," he said.
"The CFS hierarchy say there's one (rural) fire appliance at Mt Barker and there's back-up at Woodchester and  Littlehampton et cetera but for Wistow residents it will mean only one fire truck will be available in the shortest
possible time instead of being two.
"Any other fire appliance that's coming to back them up, there will be extra delay in getting there, and time is a critical factor in a fire.
"If you can get fire trucks there in the shortest possible time, before the fire has spread, that's the most effective
way of controlling the fire."
Mt Barker brigade captain Peter Vincent shared residents'concerns. He is meeting with senior CFS management this week to argue that Mt Barker's growing population and increasing vehicle accident workload made it imperative to keep both rural appliances but take on the extra urban appliance with road crash rescue equipment.
Up until February the brigade had one urban appliance and two rural appliances with 4WD capabilities for off-road firefighting.

Unfortunately I dont have a copy of the paper to retype from..... so I cant get the letter to the ed. or the strath article.

[CFS_fire32]

Jason, can you please confirm or deny this...

Did Barker have the choice of either;
1. replacing Dennis with a type 2 and keeping Rescue,24P and 24; or,
2. replacing 24P and Rescue with a type 2 and keeping Dennis and 24 - as has now happened?

[strikeathird]

hmm mmmm ...   Interesting!

[medevac]

Jason, can you please confirm or deny this...

Did Barker have the choice of either;
1. replacing Dennis with a type 2 and keeping Rescue,24P and 24; or,
2. replacing 24P and Rescue with a type 2 and keeping Dennis and 24 - as has now happened?

I dont think either were there given options although i cant conrifm what they were...

[rescue5271]

mmmmm Two pumpers and a 24,whats the matter with that??? mind you there is support close by and there is always fast air support in summmer so what's the problem??? If its such a problem then the group should look at(A) open a satelite station with a 24. (B) the group needs to stand up and support the brigade....

[24P]

From this weeks Courier Newspaper
Bid for second rural unit fails
The Mt Barker CFS has failed in its bid to keep its second
rural appliance after brigade representatives met with the
firefighting organisation's hierarchy Monday night.
Heysen Group Officer Simon Henderson said authorities
decided the vehicle structure at Mt Barker would "stay the
way it is" until all the brigades in the Mt Barker Council
district were reviewed over the next year.
Earlier this month CFS management changed Mt Barker's
fleet of two rural appliances and one urban appliance for
one rural appliance (with 4WD capabilities), one urban
appliance and a new urban appliance with road crash
rescue equipment.
The swap angered a group of residents living on rural
properties at Wistow who claimed they were at greater
risk from bushfire because only one rural appliance would
reach their area in the shortest possible time.
To ease residents' concerns, the CFS decided Monday
night to instigate a new call-out policy for Wistow.
Mt Barker would send two appliances - one rural and one
urban pumping appliance for asset protection - and the
Littlehampton brigade would send its rural appliance and a
bulk water carrier.
Depending on the location of the call, Woodchester
brigade would also respond.
"We will be servicing the residents of Wistow better than
was before because we're sending an extra appliance
than was sent before so there won't be a huge time
delay," Mr Henderson said.
Littlehampton would have enough volunteers to crew their
appliances, he said.

[CFS_fire32]

That is a fair call by CFS if you ask me.
I think the trouble is Mount Barker have been too use to more than the adequate number of appliances to cover their needs.

For example, Naracoorte seem to manage with a very similar structure:
Urban Pumper.
Specilaist Rescue.
Rural Appliance.
...and rural back-up for them is a much, much greater distance away than it is for Mount Barker.

[rescue5271]

Yep we do get by and we would love a second rural appliances but we know have the region 5 24 at our station.mind you this appliances can be sent to any brigade in the region as a spare with out any notice other than a phone call to our captain.. Mount barker will be fine,mind you their group as a 14 unit?????

[medevac]

Believe Heysen 14 is in littlehampton stn now... strange how Mt barker has gone from 5 appliances to 3... and littlehampton has gone from two to four.... can they really crew all the appliances? or even two trucks and the tanker?

[Alan (Big Al)]

Twelve years ago at Goolwa we used to run two 24's, a 34, and a 42, ahh those were the days, but i was a cadet then so haven't got too much to reminisce about :wink:

[medevac]

a 42.....???
cool.

[Alan (Big Al)]

a 42.....???
cool.

It was a huge truck but was phased out about a year after i joined. :cry:

[CFS_Firey]

Believe Heysen 14 is in littlehampton stn now... strange how Mt barker has gone from 5 appliances to 3... and littlehampton has gone from two to four.... can they really crew all the appliances? or even two trucks and the tanker?

*Devils advocate*

Which brigade is Mark Thomason a member of again?

[medevac]

have to ammend myself... apparently heysen 14 is leaving heysen group...

CFS_FIREY:

LOL