Country Fire Service

In reply to the Hon. A.L. McLACHLAN (10 February 2016).

The Hon. P. MALINAUSKAS (Minister for Police, Minister for Correctional Services, Minister for Emergency Services, Minister for Road Safety): I am advised:

The South Australian Country Fire Service (CFS) has a firefighting fleet of 800 vehicles located across the state. It has been identified that within the fleet there are currently 209 tankers that are single cab vehicles that require volunteer firefighters to take refuge on an open-backed truck in the event of a burn-over. The CFS currently replaces approximately 30 fire trucks each year and the replacement of all single cab fire trucks is currently expected to be completed over the next seven (7) years.

New CFS fire trucks are fitted with the full range of safety systems, which include dual cab vehicles, allowing all crew to take refuge in the cab with heat resistant curtains, water spray deluge systems and in-cab breathing systems to protect volunteer firefighters in the event of a burn-over. In addition, the CFS has been installing in-cab pump start switches on new fire trucks since 2014-15.

The CFS is also undertaking a program of retrofitting vehicles with safety systems such as cabin water spray deluge systems and in-cab breathing systems. However, retrofitting remains a technical challenge for some vehicles.