By JESSE GRAHAM
FIRE-FIGHTING in the bush has been given a leg-up, with Powelltown’s Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP) receiving eight new, re-designed ultra-light tankers.
The Mercedes-Benz G-Professional four-wheel-drive tankers were handed out to the DELWP office at the end of May, following a prototype trial last year.
Forest fire management Yarra District manager Nigel Brennan said the tankers would replace old LandCruisers, and had a number of new features, including a larger water tank and a diesel pump.
The old tankers, he said, carried 400 litres – the new tankers, which are also called G-Wagons, can carry 630 litres.
“The situation we often find ourselves in, the source of water can be a long way away, so it can involve a long drive back to get more water,” Mr Brennan said.
“Having extra capacity can result in a pretty substantial increase in the effectiveness of the firefighting vehicle.”
The diesel pump, he said, is more powerful and reliable in extreme temperatures and on slopes, where the old petrol pumps can become unreliable.
“Petrol pumps, when operating on a slope, can get to a point where they don’t operate – that’s not an uncommon situation for us,” Mr Brennan said.
But the key feature of the tankers is the Falling Object Protection Structure (FOPS), which sits above the cabin and protects the occupants from falling trees or branches.
“Everywhere in the Yarra State Forest there are trees that are tall enough to … cause a hazard,” Mr Brennan said.
“Everybody in the department, whether they work out in the desert or work out in the forest like we do would come across a situation where they’re at risk of hazardous trees.
“We’re well and truly aware of the tree risk – I guess this is a response to that.”
The tankers have also been re-designed, so heavier items are lower and more accessible, and hoses can be rewound electronically, rather than by hand.
He said the tankers would be the first response to a forest fire, and that the Powelltown office was one of the first to receive the new vehicles.
Other DELWP offices across the state are expected to receive the new tankers in the future.
