Leaked draft memo causes firefighter fury

A draft memo by FRV has recommended it temporarily lease or loan ex-CFA/UFU approved heavy tankers from 12 locations across the state.

The stations include Wodonga, Wangaratta, Shepparton, Traralgon, Morwell, Latrobe West, Mildura, Bendigo, Ballarat City, Lucas, Warrnambool and Portland.

The draft document by FRV deputy commissioner Gavin Freeman found "FRV have no capacity to adequately [respond] to our bushfire risk within FRV primary areas or adjoining CFA districts in regional locations".

"Before July 1, it was custom and practice for professional firefighters to support their local community with appropriate vehicles for bushfire responses," the document read.

"This service is no longer available, nor is the capacity to protect these communities from fire impacting from adjoining CFA brigade areas."

The memo proposes FRV loan heavy tankers from the CFA at co-located brigades where both career staff and volunteers are based.

FRV has since said the memo was not factual or endorsed by management.

But one CFA manager, who requested to remain anonymous, said that could "shut the door" on volunteer firefighters who wished to help on the fire ground.

"The Fire Services Reform was supposed to be good for Victoria and increase firefighting capacity across the state but that's not what this has done," the manager said.

He said FRV crews in regional areas "lacked the necessary equipment" to fight potentially devastating bushfires this upcoming summer period.

"When operational staff changed to FRV, they gave all the tankers back to the CFA and they kept the pumpers and aerial appliances which aren't suitable to fight grass fires - they're designed for urban and structure fires," the manager said.

"It's concerning FRV thinks it cannot rely on the CFA ... it's a load of nonsense because we've been fighting fires for over 100 years."

Regional volunteer firefighters fear their capacity to fight fires will "diminish" if Fire Rescue Victoria gets the tick of approval to lease tankers from rural brigades.

Volunteer Fire Brigades Victoria, which represents 55,000 firies, said volunteers were concerned about the future of firefighting in regional areas after a draft memo by FRV revealed it required additional appliances to bolster its firefighting capacity.

"The FRV and the union are allowed to plan and look ahead to the future but not to the detriment of volunteers, when our volunteers do that job well," VFBV executive officer Mark Dryden said.

"The volunteers' capacity to protect their communities will be diminished simply because they won't have an appliance that they can use."

Fire Rescue Victoria commissioner Ken Block dismissed suggestions that would be the case and said the memo was not factually correct, nor had it been "consulted upon or endorsed by FRV leadership".

"I wish to assure you that our longstanding emergency response and incident control arrangements remain in place and have not changed as a result of the fire and rescue service reforms," Mr Block said.

"The reforms mean that CFA has been empowered with the responsibility to lead direct bushfire response in country Victoria, with support from FRV and that FRV has the responsibility to lead direct bushfire response in the FRV area of coverage with support of CFA.

"FRV has a number of pumper tankers that it will make available for strike team capability based on any increased risk over the summer, at the request of CFA."

Mr Dryden said volunteer firefighters would be ready to fight fires this summer.

"One of the interesting parts is that when FRV came in, they didn't want these tankers but now they do and that's for the government and FRV to work out," he said.

"Our concern is volunteers and operational or paid staff cannot be on the same truck, for instance a tanker, so in the event FRV gains access to these appliances, there will be no opportunity for volunteers to assist.

"And this summer just gone proves we need volunteer firefighters."

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