The South Australian Government has commenced significant upgrades and improvements to the Metropolitan Fire Service (MFS) operations across regional areas, aiming to enhance the emergency response and safety environments for local firefighters. New fire trucks, station upgrades, and better, specialised training for retained firefighters are all on the cards.
An investment of $1.25 million has been allocated to facilitate the replacement of Heavy Urban Pump appliances in six regional towns including Port Pirie, Mount Gambier, Port Lincoln, Victor Harbor, Berri, and Port Augusta. These upgrades are expected to be complete by the end of July next year. In addition, the MFS has recently refurbished and deployed new trucks to Tanunda, Kadina, and Wallaroo.
Station refurbishments are another essential component of the upgrades. Immediate action plans involve renovations at Moonta, Loxton, Renmark, and Peterborough stations beginning early next year. These upgrades will focus on improving facilities, including the installation of appropriate personal protective equipment storage. Simultaneously, works at Kapunda and Wallaroo are near completion, with additional enhancements scheduled for nine more regional stations in the 2025-26 financial year.
To further support the development of MFS operations in regional communities, the implementation of an independent review has commenced. This review, backed by union support, spotlights areas for potential growth in emergency services. The resulting action plans include refining recruitment and training processes for retained firefighters, focusing mainly on practical skills such as breathing apparatus usage and structural firefighting techniques.
Addressing existing gender disparities, the MFS has committed to constructing women’s changeroom facilities at some stations. This development is poised to be part of future capital works projects ensuring inclusivity within the regional firefighting teams.
MFS Chief Officer Jeff Swann spoke about the significance of these capital works projects. “The MFS has a large capital works project underway within the regions that is focused on replacing and improving stations and appliances to create a safer working environment for our staff,” stated Swann.
MFS regional response times are currently, on average, 11.6 minutes – exceeding the 14-minute benchmark. Quickest station response times are Port Pirie (8-minute average arrival time) and Mount Gambier (10-minute average arrival time).
An internal taskforce will be established by the MFS to examine the remaining recommendations from the independent review and implement them promptly to enhance regional response capacities further.
Around half of the report’s 41 recommendations made are already progressing, including an audit of retained firefighting stations.
“The work underway to support regional firefighting operations must continue and expand,” Minister Cregan said.
“I am confident these matters have the Chief Officer’s full attention and the report’s remaining items will be addressed without delay.”
There are 17 MFS regional stations across the state, including two co-located stations using retained and full-time firefighters.
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