Newport Fire Station — located in one of Melbourne’s most heavily industrialised areas — should be operating with two fire trucks.
It currently has just one.
Black mould has been discovered inside the station, forcing crews to relocate for health and safety reasons. Firefighters cannot and should not be expected to work in unsafe conditions. But the consequence is clear: Newport is no longer operating at full capacity.
This is not a low-risk suburban area. Newport is surrounded by heavy industry, critical infrastructure and major transport corridors. The need for strong, reliable fire coverage here is obvious.
Even more concerning is the broader picture.
Across metropolitan Melbourne, 44 fire trucks are currently sitting in workshops out of a total fleet of 131 appliances. That means roughly one third of the metropolitan fleet is unavailable.
When a high-risk station like Newport is reduced to one appliance, and dozens of trucks are already off the road, resilience is stretched thin.
See Nick McGowan’s on-the-ground report — watch the video below.