By Victoria Stone-Meadows
Paid CFA members at Cranbourne Integrated fire station have spoken out in support of the government’s proposed changes to the CFA and MFB.
Career Firefighter at Cranbourne Geoff Barker said it was about time these changes were made and the fire services structure in Victoria was long overdue for an overhaul.
“The current boundaries were last updated in 1958, and have not changed since then,” he said.
“There are too many areas wrongly zoned as country such as Cranbourne, Dandenong, Frankston, and Springvale, in fact all 35 integrated stations are wrongly zoned.”
“What you have got is a fire in Richmond burns the same as a fire in Rowville, but the fire cover and response is vastly different.”
Mr Barker said the changes to fire services would not alter the way paid and volunteer firefighters in Cranbourne worked to protect their community.
“Based on the announcements made by the government and the details on the fire services website, the CFA Act will be slightly amended to strengthen the role of volunteers,” he said.
“The only thing that will change is our (paid CFA members) employer changes, but the response and the hands on work to fires does not change.”
“We maintain an excellent working relationship with our volunteer colleagues, and that won’t change if the legislation passes.”
Mr Barker said he did not think having CFA and Fire Rescue Victoria firefighters in the same building is going to cause conflicts nor will it lead to volunteers leaving the area.
“The sentient I understand after having spoken to a few of the volunteers at Cranbourne is that they recognise nothing changes,” he said.
“There are elements outside of the volunteers at integrated stations suggesting volunteers will be leaving in the thousands, but that is clearly untrue.”
“When you look at the details, volunteers at Cranbourne are not going anywhere; they will still remain to provide surge capacity and deliver services to their community.”
The United Firefighters Union announced on Wednesday 24 May that they supported the changes as a body and encouraged paid firefighters to do the same.
The United Firefighters Union National secretary Peter Marshall said the campaign was about making sure communities were safe from fire.
“At the heart of our campaign is the safety of our members and the community,” Mr Marshall said.
“We will advocate strongly to ensure any proposed changes to Victoria’s fire services are in the best interests of our members, and the communities they protect.”
