New life-saving road crash rescue tools have been rolled out across the state to help Country Fire Authority volunteers rescue road trauma victims even faster.

The new battery-operated rescue kits will be spread across 10 regional Victorian brigades.

The kits are waterproof and don’t require external power sources, allowing CFA Road Crash Rescue brigades better access to tricky environments like drains, ditches and waterways.

Member for Buninyong Michaela Settle and Member for Wendouree Juliana Addison joined volunteers at the Ballarat Fire Brigade to announce the rollout to Ballarat, Cohuna, Daylesford, Epping, Monbulk, Wandin, Loch, Mirboo North, Fish Creek and Yea Fire Brigades.

All Victorian CFA brigades respond to road accidents – however 21 are Road Crash Rescue Principal Providers, which means they have specialised equipment to perform rescues.

CFA Ballarat is one of the busiest road crash rescue brigades, responding to 460 callouts – including 26 road crash rescue callouts and 338 within its primary response area – in the past 12 months.

More broadly, the CFA responded to 4,290 motor vehicle accidents across Victoria in 2020. More than 170 of those callouts required a CFA rescue crew and around 80 people had to be cut out of vehicles.

The total cost of the equipment is $800,000, with CFA providing $454,000 and the Transport Accident Commission (TAC) providing $346,000.

Quotes attributable to Member for Buninyong Michaela Settle

“CFA Ballarat was one of the first brigades to specialise in road trauma thanks to the work of Graeme Broom and all the volunteers and this new equipment will help them continue to serve our community.”

 “CFA Ballarat is one of the busiest fire brigades in the state. I’m pleased they now have access to the latest, cutting-edge equipment that will mean better outcomes for road crash rescues across the Ballarat response area.”

Quotes attributable to Member for Wendouree Juliana Addison

“Time is critical when it comes to responding to emergencies and saving lives- these new tools will make an immense difference in allowing CFA members to carry out their life-saving work as efficiently and safely as possible.” 

“While CFA members do have access to these tools, we would ultimately prefer they not have to use them – it’s up to Victorians to do their part and drive safely on our roads so we can all enjoy this festive season.”