Northen Victoria Left without an Aerial Rescue Platform A 19-year-old Ladder Platform stationed at Bendigo broke down during a fire fight in Inglewood yesterday afternoon, forcing a firefighter to self-evacuate from a cage that was working over the fire.
This Ladder Platform services all of Northern Victoria. Dramatic footage taken on scene shows the firefighter leaving the cage as the appliance had malfunctioned whilst performing an aerial attack. The 19-year-old Truck that had replaced Bendigo’s 20 year old dedicated appliance, ceased operating due to hydraulic faults. During the attack controls ceased to operate on all three safety back-ups forcing the firefighter to self-evacuate in close proximity to the fire.
This 19-year-old Truck should have been taken off the road 4 years ago, instead due to a lack of funding and planning by the State Government, firefighters and the community in and around Jacinta Allan’s own electorate are being left in a dangerous and compromising situation.
The community of Bendigo and Victoria are experiencing a Fire Truck Crisis, a rolling replacement program needs to be immediately reinstated to ensure the safety of the community and our firefighters.