New tanker for langley-barfold cfa

A new Ultra-Light Tanker will help Langley-Barfold Fire Brigade keep the local community safe, thanks to more than $118,500 in Andrews Labor Government funding.

Member for Macedon Mary-Anne Thomas officially handed over the 500-litre tanker today and congratulated the volunteer brigade for their dedicated service to the community.

The four-wheel-drive vehicle is a welcome boost to the brigade’s firefighting capacity and provides volunteer firefighters greater safety when responding to incidents.

Designed to allow for rapid response in grass and scrub fires and across difficult terrain, the highly manoeuvrable ultra-light vehicle also has an independent pump to help draw water quickly and safely.

Its compact size means it can access fires that are normally inaccessible to larger tankers and can be driven by operational volunteers with a standard Victorian driver’s license.

The Langley-Barfold Fire Brigade has been serving the local community for 68 years and attends around 25 incidents a year, including grassfires, house fires and traffic incidents.

The brigade actively participates in strike teams, with teams being deployed across the state when required, most notably in the 2009 Victorian Bushfires.

The new tanker was funded as part of the 2017–18 round of the Andrews Labor Government’s Volunteer Emergency Services Equipment Program (VESEP), which provides funding for emergency service agencies across the state.

In the past five years, more than $77 million has been allocated to the VESEP program, with close to $13.9 million on offer in the 2019-20 round of allocation.

Quotes attributable to Member for Macedon Mary-Anne Thomas
"We are committed to giving our volunteer firefighters the tools and equipment they need to continue protecting their community."

"I’d like to thank the Langley-Barfold Fire Brigade for its continued service to the local community, as well as for their readiness to help out across the state in times of need."