DESPITE costing almost $1 billion in taxpayers’ funds, professional career firefighters in Victoria have consistently failed to meet their response time targets according to the State Government’s independent Fire Services Implementation Monitor (FSIM), Niall Blair.

In the second quarter (Q2) to March 2022, Mr Blair again reported in the Fire Services Outcomes Framework Progress Report, that Fire Rescue Victoria (FRV) firefighters have not only failed to meet response time targets, but that their performance has also declined.

The FSIM report showed FRV consistently missed benchmarks in the following areas:
• Achieving road rescue callouts with a benchmark of 13.5 minutes - fell from 90 per cent to 84.1 per cent since mid-2020.
• Achieving the 7.7-minute benchmark for structure fire callouts - fell from 91 per cent to 88.4 per cent since mid-2020.
• The availability of trained specialists to maintain operational capability fell from 60 per cent in mid-2021 to just 29.5 per cent by December 31.

The report was released amid allegations that the United Firefighters Union (UFU) is concurrently running a campaign to rally community support for FRV to take over more volunteer Country Fire Authority (CFA) stations.

FRV was contacted for comment on performance along with the union’s campaign, however, a spokeswoman replied but would not be drawn into specific details regarding unmet targets or in relation to claims regarding the UFU campaigning to garner more support for FRV to increase its control over volunteer CFA stations.

The UFU’s website encourages Victorians to check “if you are protected by FRV professional career firefighters”, further stating that “they keep you, your family and your community safe and respond (with) their highly trained and highly qualified Firefighters in an emergency”.

Instead, the spokeswoman said it continued to strive to provide an exemplary fire and rescue service to Victorians, and believed it performed strongly overall in responding to all emergency incidents.

The spokeswoman said that FRV have continued reviewing its performance and are strategically planning the location of fire stations and appliances to ensure the best possible outcomes for the community.

“FRV continues to identify areas in which we have performed well, along with areas for development,” she said.

“We are working to determine how new stations, resources, and staff can support us to continue to serve and protect our community.

“We set ourselves very high benchmarks to ensure we never stop striving for excellence in service delivery to Victorians.

“Victorians and our staff deserve an exemplary service, and FRV is committed to advocating for this on their behalf.

“Our operational staff are on duty 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, and do an outstanding job serving and protecting Victorians each and every day, fully supported by our corporate, technical and workshops colleagues.”

FRV was formed on July 1, 2020, when 38 CFA stations merged with the Metropolitan Fire Brigade (MFB).

Not all CFA brigades merged into FRV, with most country-based brigades retaining their status.

However, while the majority of FRV firefighters are paid, the CFA remains predominantly volunteer based.

CFA volunteers respond to emergencies in their area as part of Victoria’s emergency response arrangements and in an emergency, all agencies work together as one.

CFA and FRV employees also work in the State Control Centre and Regional Control Centres.

The introduction of the State Government’s fire services reforms in 2015 was controversial with the CFA refusing to sign a pay deal with the UFU.

The dispute resulted in the resignation of Emergency Services minister, Jane Garrett, in 2016, after she refused to support premier Daniel Andrews in cabinet.

The entire board of the CFA was sacked around the same time, after it failed to accept an offer from the government over a dispute regarding pay and conditions.

Concerns were raised specifically about a clause in the proposed enterprise bargain agreement requiring them to have at least seven paid firefighters in attendance at every incident, and that it also prevented volunteers from being able to issue orders.

Ms Garrett consistently backed CFA management and voiced multiple concerns over the reforms, including that it breached human rights laws.

In addition, the UFU caused significant controversy by reportedly providing manpower to help the Labor party win the 2014 State

Election, in return for favourable conditions and protections.

However, in an about turn, UFU secretary, Peter Marshall, accused the government of failing to deliver its pre-election and post-election commitments and called on the government to repay firefighters for helping the party come to power.

The UFU’s dispute remains ongoing with the State Government and includes legislation changes regarding compensation for firefighters who have developed specific variants of cancer.

The changes include replacing the word “firefighter” with “person” in order to broaden the compensation scheme to include 90 staff in its vehicle and equipment maintenance areas.

The UFU has purportedly escalated its dispute with the State Government and has launched a campaign to encourage voters to put Labor party candidates at the bottom of the ballot paper at the November 2022 state election.

The CFA wouldn’t be drawn into discussion about allegations that the UFU were seeking to rally community support for the FRV to take over even more volunteer CFA stations and declined to comment on that point specifically.

Instead, a CFA spokesperson said that no volunteer had been ‘replaced’ because of fire services reform and that 54,000 CFA volunteers continued to protect Victorian lives and properties every day, as they have always done.

“CFA volunteer firefighters are highly trained and well respected in their communities,” the spokesperson said.

“CFA Volunteers and FRV career firefighters work alongside one another to serve and protect the community at 34 co-located stations across the state.”

The CFA did not meet the baseline for recruitment of volunteers under the age of 40 in Q2.

This was attributed to the ageing population, rural decline, and other challenges around maintaining volunteer levels.