24 upgrades needed now

On April 7 2009 – 204 days before the start of the fire season –  a Board of Reference ruled that 24 CFA fire stations need to be upgraded. Either more professional fire fighters or extended hours of coverage (in many cases from nothing to 24/7) were prescribed. Nothing has happened yet. On August 18 2009, Premier John Brumby named Victoria’s 52 danger spots for the coming fire season. The fire stations that need extra fire fighters now cover 34 of these 52 hot spots. More

 Cutting Melbourne's Protection

The MFB proposes cutting the minimum number of firefighters on duty in Melbourne. When that happens, fire crews may not be able to respond as quickly as they currently do – within a maximum of 7.7 minutes of an alarm. That’s the worldwide accepted standard that allows the best chance of rescuing people and preventing a fire spreading beyond its area of origin. The MFB doesn’t have a crystal ball that tells them when and where emergencies will occur.  The MFB’s budget saving will inevitably cost lives and property. More

Are you protected?

Homeowners and landlords pay a fire levy as part of their insurance. It’s meant to provide fire protection services. Are you covered? Some of metropolitan Melbourne has full-time cover from the MFB. Some suburbs – like Springvale, Frankston and Caroline Springs – have full-time CFA cover. Many suburbs like Noble Park, Lilydale and Werribee have only volunteer CFA coverage. Recently there have been incidents where volunteer units have not turned out when called. More

Campaign action stations

Here's how you can help firefighters in their campaign to resource Victoria's fire services so that all communities are adequately protected during emergencies: Follow the Firecrisis campaign on Twitter and keep in the campaign loop with Facebook. Contact your local MP. Query the MFB Chief Officer. Query the CFA CEO. Check the Firecrisis campaign news.