FRV’s Truck Crisis Hits Bendigo and Mildura 🚨
The truck shortage continues to put Victorian communities at risk. FRV’s leadership is scrambling to “rob Peter to pay Paul,” shuffling trucks between stations instead of fixing the root of the crisis.
🔴 Today, Bendigo’s fire truck broke down — with no spare available. Crews were forced to drive all the way to Mildura to take the “Reserve Pumper.”
But let’s be clear:
👉 The Reserve Pumper is not a spare.
It exists in Mildura because of the city’s isolation. It is meant to provide backup when FS72 firefighters are already committed to an incident — ensuring fire coverage for Mildura and support for surrounding CFA brigades.
This truck has previously been critical in:
- Rescuing a person trapped in a car accident
- Responding to serious house fires
- Responding to vehicle fires, including one at a supermarket drive-through bottle shop
- And many other emergencies where lives and property were at stake.
Now, because of FRV’s failure to manage its fleet, Mildura has lost this vital resource.
Victorians deserve better. 🚒
The community should not be put at risk because FRV leadership is out of its depth and Minister Vicki Ward refuses to act.
How many more communities need to be left vulnerable before this crisis is fixed?