Moe Fire Brigade remained one of the poorest performing fire brigades in the state with a 35 percent on-response time for the last quarter of 2017, according to Country Fire Authority data.
However, its performance had significantly improved from the previous quarterly statistics when the brigade achieved the eight minute response target just 28 per cent of the time.
Morwell’s performance was also slightly down from 95 to 92 per cent in the past quarter while Traralgon turned up to 100 per cent of responses on time.
District 27 operations manager Colin Brown said Moe improved its data because it had fewer call-outs to attend to in the past quarter.
He said performance figures also fluctuated due to the time of year and types of responses.
“There are problems but we are dealing with them. We have these measures in place to take pressure off brigades and improve support to the community,” he said.
He said both Morwell and Traralgon’s good rates were because they were integrated stations with a mix of both career and volunteer fire fighters.
Mr Brown said the Moe Fire Brigade was in the middle of town which made it difficult for its volunteer base who lived south of the train line to get in and out the door in eight minutes.
He said a $2.5 million fire station promised for Moe should be more accessible to its volunteers.
This will also be backed up by a new, fully-integrated fire station in Moe/Newborough with 26 career firefighters that should be operational by December.
“This station will support Moe, Newborough and Yallourn North. It will support the community and support local brigades and take the pressure off volunteers,” he said.
Mr Brown said they had recently appointed an operations officer Shane Mynard to work with volunteer brigades to ensure a smooth transition into the integrated station.
He said the CFA was running a recruitment program to attract more volunteers to the Churchill Fire Brigade which would improve its 55 per cent on-time response rate.
“Churchill is made up of students. They come to join but they are away during semester breaks. Also, people who work in industries around the Valley can’t turn up during the day,” he said.
