The state’s fire-fighting fleet will be bolstered with the addition of eight new aerial appliances.
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The $6.8 million investment into the Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) aerial fleet will improve the agency’s capability to undertake large scale and intricate operations including major fires in commercial buildings such as shopping centres, industrial complexes and multi-storey residential buildings.
The aerial fleet equipment will not only be used to combat fires but also undertake rescues and conduct other non-fire operations if needed such as evacuations.
Minister for Emergency Services Troy Grant said the injection of firefighting resources enhances community safety and provides FRNSW with greater capability.
“I’m proud of the investment we’re making to ensure the brave men and women on the front line have state-of-the-art appliances and the residents and visitors to our state are as safe as possible,” Mr Grant said.
“Every day of the week firefighters across our state put their lives on the line to keep people and property safe and we’re ensuring they have the resources they need for this important work.
“We need to ensure our firefighting equipment has the capacity to extinguish fires should they break out anywhere, from modern building developments to transport and road infrastructure.
“There is no question our state is undergoing a massive building boom – there are cranes across our cities and we must ensure our firefighters have the tools they need to support us in an emergency.
“The residents of NSW should feel confident the NSW Liberals & Nationals Government is equipping our first responders with the support they need to protect the community.”
FRNSW Commissioner Paul Baxter said the additional resourcing support gives the organisation greater flexibility and reassurance.
“At FRNSW we are striving to ensure we are prepared for anything and to help anyone, anywhere, anytime,” Commissioner Baxter said.
“FRNSW is always looking for new technologies to enhance incident response effectiveness and safety in accordance with risk factors, population demographics, and environmental conditions.”
The new appliances will feature all the latest technology and have a far greater reach than the existing appliances.
These eight new aerial appliances, comprising two aerial ladder platforms with a reach of up to 45 metres and six aerial pumpers with a reach of 24 metres, are in addition to two aerial ladder platforms and one aerial pumper that were ordered earlier this year.
The multi-million investment means the FRNSW aerial fleet is increased by three to 25 operational appliances across NSW and increases reach of aerial pumpers by 60 per cent - from 15 to 24 metres.
