Rowville and surrounding communities will be safer thanks to the delivery of a state of the art fire truck to Rowville Fire Brigade.
The truck’s delivery is the culmination of months of hard work by brigade members, raising more than $50,000 from the community to purchase the vehicle.
The remaining $310,000 was funded by CFA and the Victorian Government Volunteer Emergency Service Equipment Program (VESEP).
District 13 Operations Manager Dave Renkin said the new truck would be well utilised in an area where the bush meets the suburbs with 12,500 dwellings and 37,500 residents.
“The medium tanker is perfectly suited to the area Rowville Fire Brigade protects – suburban Melbourne backing onto large areas of grass and bushland, particularly around Lysterfield,” Mr Renkin said.
“The brigade and the community are to be congratulated on their commitment to keeping the local residents safe.”
The 2.4C medium tanker is a versatile four-wheel-drive truck capable of carrying 2350 litres of water which is ideal in fighting grass and scrub fires. It is also able to connect to urban fire hydrants and act as a pumper truck for structure fires.
“Rowville is a glowing example of how integration, where staff and volunteers work together at incidents and emergencies, has brought the highest level of community safety to the community,” Mr Renkin said.
The brigade relocated to its current home in 2014 and took on career firefighters to support the volunteers who had provided 70 years of outstanding service.
“Rowville and the surrounding area has seen significant growth, particularly over the past 20 years. Integration has ensured the brigade can meet the increasing demands of the community now and into the future,” Mr Renkin said.
The truck will be predominantly operated by volunteer members of the brigade, continuing a strong partnership with career staff in responding to more than 300 incidents every year.
“The residents of Rowville and the surrounding communities can be rightly proud of their brigade and thanks to their generosity, this can only become stronger.”
The brigade protects a community which includes large residential and industrial areas, three major shopping centres, three retirement villages, two high schools, five primary schools, large areas of National Parks & four golf clubs.
Author: CFA Media