Sunbury volunteer fire service is to get a new 4,000-litre water tanker as part of the roll out of 50 new machines by the Country Fire Association (CFA).
Sunbury is one of 28 fire brigades to get a new ‘heavy tanker’, funded through the Victorian Government’s $126m CFA Capability Funding package, announced in June 2020.
The fleet of new dual-cab vehicles includes 48 heavy tankers and two light tankers, all of which replace single-cab tankers and allow a full crew to sit within the cabin.
CFA Chief Officer Jason Heffernan says tankers are a vital part of CFA’s fleet, with more than 1,900 across the state.
“These new tankers are state-of-the-art firefighting vehicles,” CO Heffernan said. “They will ensure volunteer firefighter are well equipped to protect their communities.
“The heavy tankers feature a 15-tonne crew-cab chassis with a 4,000-litre water tank, while their 4×4 capability and automatic transmission will help crews access fires in difficult terrain.
“They also include features such as electronic monitors and electric rewind hose reels, as well as using a higher percentage of recyclable build materials.”
The final 28 heavy tankers will be delivered to selected brigades and the full rollout will be complete by late-2023.
The heavy tankers also have a 1,200 lites per minute diesel engine-driven firefighting pump, crew/vehicle rollover and burnover protection and full equipment stowage cache.
