WorkSafe probes aging CFA fire trucks as volunteers demand urgent replacements

After the CFA Volunteers Group highlighted safety problems with the Country Fire Authority’s aging single-cab tankers, WorkSafe Victoria launched an investigation into the fleet ahead of the upcoming fire season. Inspectors have consulted with CFA leadership at its Melbourne headquarters and inspected several regional brigades, with the CFA cooperating by providing access to equipment and records. The group’s president John Houston argued that the outdated trucks, including a 1989 two-wheel-drive tanker in the Muckatah Brigade, pose health and safety hazards for volunteers who must ride on the back and work in cabs lacking air-conditioning.

He said repeated pleas for funding and new equipment have been ignored, prompting the regulator appeal. Emergency Services Minister Paul Edbrooke acknowledged the trucks’ limited lifespan and expressed willingness to discuss improvements, noting newer models are now “light years ahead.” Data from the volunteers show 225 new primary tankers were added between 2016 and 2025, compared with 453 in the preceding decade, out of roughly 1,400 total across 1,209 brigades.