Submitted by daniel on Wed, 14/01/2026 - 19:06 Picture Image Description CFA Volunteers Group president and Grassmere Rural Fire Brigade captain John Houston says his brigade had to go out in 40-degree heat in an un-airconditioned tanker. Picture supplied Country Fire Authority members across the state have warned firefighters and communities are being put at increasingly greater risk because of the state's ageing tanker fleet. Subscribe now for unlimited access to all our agricultural news across the nation or signup to continue reading All articles from our website & app The digital version of This Week's Paper Our entire network The state's peak firefighting bodies have estimated more than 64 per cent of Fire Rescue Victoria's (FRV) fleet and about 800 CFA fire trucks are considered "over-age" by fleet replacement policies. CFA Volunteers Group president and Grassmere Rural Fire Brigade captain John Houston said his brigade had to go out in 40-degree heat in an un-airconditioned tanker. "If someone is heat-struck on a fire ground, they should be able to stick you in the cab and turn the air conditioning on and cool them down," Mr Houston said. "These CFA tankers may have been the pride of the fleet 30-plus years ago, but standards have changed, risks have changed, expectations have changed and safety laws have changed. "We constantly hear governments talk about purchasing vehicles with the highest possible Australasian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP) safety ratings, yet a significant proportion of frontline fire tankers were built before ANCAP safety ratings even existed. "Tankers roaring around in often smoke-blinding conditions without airbags is a disaster waiting to happen." CFAVG vice-president and Grassdale brigade captain Brad Marson said there was far less protection for crews in single-cab tanker compared to dual-cab vehicles. "They are more exposed to heat exhaustion and smoke inhalation when they are on the tanker," Mr Marson said. "At the end of the day, it's just a steel box." The Orford Brigade has made its displeasure known on its tanker. Picture supplied Irrewillipe Rural Fire Brigade captain Ian Gill said his unit's ageing tanker was "getting tired". "Over the past few days, we've had the beacons not working, the seatbelts not working, the exhaust brake not working," he said. "It's added stress, not just worrying about the fire itself, but also whether or not the truck is going to break down, or what's going to break down next. "My son, who is a mechanic, 'bodgied' up the beacons on Friday night and kept us on the road, or at least visible." He said the crew on the back of the tanker were exposed to all kinds of weather. "It might be five degrees when you are going to a car accident in winter, or it could be 45 degrees racing to a fire in summer," he said. The manufacturing plate, from the Irrewillipe tanker. Picture supplied Corangamite CFA group officer Mark Billing said firefighters tackling the Carlisle River fire were disadvantaged by the ageing vehicles. "We are just finding some of those older trucks are having minor breakdowns," Mr Billing said. "It's taking a bit of time for district maintenance officers to keep them going." Irrewillipe Rural Fire Brigade captain Ian Gill in front of the ageing tanker. Picture supplied On its Facebook page, the Taggerty Fire Brigade said its primary tanker was old and didn't meet modern safety standards. The brigade said the 33 year old tanker was one of the oldest in the CFA fleet. "The headlights are like candles, there are no airbags, no ABS and lap-sash type seat belts," the post said. Former Taggerty brigade captain Ray Goss said being in small country brigade wasn't a good enough excuse not to have a safer truck -"not a new truck, a safer truck." Poor water pressure Westmere Fire Brigades Group officer Pat Millear said five of the 20 tankers in the group would be more than 20-years-old, including the one at Streatham, which was manufactured 28 years ago. "Working on the back of these tankers in these conditions is an occupational health and safety issue," he said. "Working in a fire like we had on Friday is so taxing in that heat and wind." He said the group had three 10,000-litre ultra-heavy tankers, which were more effective. "The smaller tankers might carry water, but they can't penetrate a hot fire like that," he said. Streatham Brigade captain Alastair Wills said the tankers could not be relied on as they were "archaic". "We have two private units that are better equipped than the CFA units," he said. "We would prefer to use our own." Funding claims questioned Questions have also been asked about Victorian government claims it has increased funding for the CFA. The most recent figures published by the CFA show between 2020-21 and 2023-24, grant income dropped from $351.6 million to $339.5 million. Treasurer Jaclyn Symes told Parliament last year the corresponding figure for 2024-25 was $337.6 million. Mr Houston said the figures did not account for inflation of about 19.5 per cent over the past five years. "When adjusted for inflation and seasonal cost pressures, the CFA budget is now effectively around $70 million below what is required just to maintain existing operational capacity, let alone improve services or replace an ageing fleet," he said. Premier's defence The CFA's 2024-25 annual report was due to be tabled in Parliament last October but is yet to be seen. The CFA and Fire Rescue Victoria were the only 2024-25 departmental and agency annual reports of 330 not tabled in Parliament last year. "The advice I have is that the annual report will be tabled as soon as possible, and one of the reasons it was not available towards the end of last year is there were Auditor-General processes that it needed to go through before it could be tabled," she said. She said $80 million in additional support had been provided in extra aircraft, personnel, equipment and a community awareness campaign. "Whilst I understand well the huge grief and trauma, I don't think it helps communities and people who are experiencing this grief and trauma to continue to peddle information that's just wrong," she said. But Mr Billing said the government needed to be aware the premier's comments were not helpful. "It's distressing that the premier is making these sorts of comments at the moment, when people are trying to come to terms with what's going on," he said. Daily Daily Headlines Today's top stories curated by our news team. As it happens Breaking news alert Be the first to know when news breaks. 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