TUESDAY, 7 JANUARY, 2025
YEAR IN REVIEW... STORIES OF THE YEAR St Albans Fire Station station officer Kieran Cardillo (front), with firefighters Chris Bloder, Clare Butler and Nathan Miller. (Damjan Janevski) 396286_01
Fires a hot topic in 2024 Industrial fires and fire truck failures regularly hit the headlines in the west in 2024 – none more so than in Brimbank. In July, a blaze at a chemical factory in Derrimut sparked questions from residents about the storage and management of toxic chemicals across the western suburbs. The July 10 inferno was sparked by an explosion at ACB Group’s chemical blending factory on Swann Drive and burned for six hours before being brought under control. Firefighters remained on the scene for weeks to ensure the fire was fully extinguished. The fire was at the same factory where a worker died and two were injured in a fire in 2023. The Environment Protection Authority (EPA) issued the site with two notices and
inspected it nine times since that first explosion and found it to be compliant. The Anti-Toxic Waste Alliance was formed after a similar factory fire in West Footscray in 2018 and several other blazes at recycling plants in the same region. It’s spokesperson Colleen Hartland said it was concerning and the repeated emergencies lessen the community’s faith in the regulators. In October, the EPA released a report stating the fire had caused little or no harm to nearby residents and that air quality was not an issue during or after the fire. Back in March, Brimbank firefighters voiced their frustrations over the alarming frequency of equipment failures plaguing their station. Between September 2023 and March 2024,
the St Albans fire station received seven replacement vehicles for its fire truck. With nearly two decades of experience in the western suburbs, station officer John Topic said the consequences of faulty equipment were “dire”. “It has happened in the past where crews have gone into a structure to battle a blaze or perform a rescue and the truck has shut down. When that happens we have to withdraw the crew for their own safety until we can establish more water,” Mr Topic said. The situation was equally dire at Sunshine Fire Station, where a crucial firefighting truck, the teleboom, had been absent since February 2023. This specialised truck, used for tackling fires in narrow streets, left firefighters
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handicapped in critical situations. Sunshine station’s teleboom hit the headlines again in October – this time because it was stuck in an up position due to a broken cover, leaving the truck with critical damage. In November, Caroline Springs firefighters experienced a double truck fault after a spare fire truck sent to replace a broken down pumper also had to be taken offline. Throughout the year Fire Rescue Victoria moved to reassure the community that the western suburbs were well protected, adding that the organisation ensures appropriate equipment is deployed to emergencies to protect firefighters and the community. It said there was “no single point of dependency”.
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