Barongarook West wheels out new tanker after crash

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Photo credit Colac Herald: Barry Ackerley (left), Ken O'Brian (middle) and Terry O'Brian (right).

Barongarook West Fire Brigade acquired its long-awaited replacement tanker a year on from a frightening truck rollover involving the brigade’s main firefighting appliance.

Last month, CFA completed the refurbishment and tidy up of a medium 4WD tanker previously owned by Larpent Fire Brigade and delivered it to Barongarook West Brigade.

Captain Ken O’Brian, who was involved in the tanker rollover on 7 September last year, said the brigade was excited to have its main firefighting unit back in the station.

“The medium tanker helps us serve the community by being able to respond to a wider range of incidents,” he said.

“It’s ideal for responding both within a bushland interface where our primary response area lies and urban areas such as Colac, where we frequently provide support at structure fires.

“We’re pleased to finally get a full replacement and have it delivered to us around four months ahead of schedule.

“They brought it out looking like a brand-new truck, which was very exciting, and it was great to get our hands on it before the upcoming fire season.”

Two weeks after last year’s crash, CFA issued the brigade with a single cab 2WD firefighting truck to allow the brigade to continue responding to incidents in the interim.

“It was great to be able to continue to respond using the smaller appliance, however the equipment it held compared to the medium tanker was chalk and cheese, so we were certainly looking forward to the upgrade,” Ken said.

The brigade’s replacement Hino medium tanker is a 4WD crew cab holds around 2400 litres of water and improves the brigade’s capability by carrying equipment used to support at structural fires and a variety of other incidents.

The brigade also responds the Corangamite Group Nissan Patrol ultra-light tanker, used primarily for incidents in bushland areas, to a wide range of incidents both within and outside the brigade area.

Ken and firefighter Matt Daniels suffered serious injuries during the truck rollover last year.

Both members have been undertaking a significant amount of rehab and have been making a strong recovery since the incident.

“We’re grateful that CFA has supported our brigade through this process and with the final replacement of our truck, this means we can support our community to the level we need to,” Ken said.