Why Victorian Firefighters Say They’re Fighting Fires Without Water

Victorian firefighters are genuinely concerned that the next time residents call “000” for an emergency, there will be no response.

That was the message in the documentary, Breaking Point, released in August 2025, which exposed the state of equipment in the state’s firefighting service.

The production—secretly filmed so their employers Fire Rescue Victoria (FRV) would not know about it—chronicles various near-fatal incidents resulting from expired or broken-down equipment.

Currently, 42 percent of the state’s firefighting truck fleet is out of date, with that figure to be 65 percent by the end of the year.

United Firefighters’ Union of Victoria Secretary Peter Marshall said this posed major risks and could result in firefighters not returning to their families.

“It’s critical equipment. And it can make the difference between being able to contain a fire, as opposed to losing the whole building,” he told The Epoch Times.

Allegations of Firefighting Equipment Breaking Down

One story detailed in the documentary showed a pumper truck failure at a Tarneit house fire.

The fire truck pump did not engage, meaning it could not supply water to the firefighters to be able to go in and put out the fire, while the next truck was eight minutes away.

Leading firefighter from Tarneit Station 57, Michael Dullard, explained in the documentary that one of the firefighters made the decision to go into the burning house with no water to save someone trapped.

Marshall said running into a burning building was a risk that firefighters should not have to take.

“The only reason they’re taking that risk is because the Allan government has failed to give them the necessary equipment to be able to enter a burning building with a hose line,” he said.

“That is the only thing that would protect the firefighter when they enter burning buildings.”

The Epoch Times contacted the office of the Minister of Emergency Services Vicki Ward for a response but did not receive one in time for publication.

Matt Morgan, a leading firefighter at Station 59 Derrimut, also detailed a large-scale fire at a chemical blending factory at Derrimut on July 10 last year.

He said 180 personnel were deployed to tackle the inferno in one of the biggest emergency responses in state memory.

Forty-four-gallon drums of burning brake cleaner were exploding and landing near personnel and onto the nearby freeway.

“We could’ve lost half a dozen people if we weren’t switched on,” Morgan said.

To fight the blaze, aerial firefighter equipment was brought in from Footscray.

Marshall said this was happening on too many occasions.

“The aerial equipment that’s required to be able to provide a water stream or a suppression over the top of a factory—not only are there very little of those, but they are failing at a rapid rate of knots,” he said.

Fire Rescue Victoria’s Response

The FRV responded to inquiries and assured Victorians that they will “always be protected in an emergency.”

“At all times, Fire Rescue Victoria ensures that appropriate equipment is deployed to emergencies to protect firefighters and the community. There is no single point of dependency,” a spokesperson told The Epoch Times.

“We continually utilise our full fleet across the state to ensure a high level of availability for emergency response.

“Senior leaders have commissioned an independent external audit of the fleet and maintenance programs, the outcome of which will inform our maintenance and replacement plans going forward.”

FRV said it had established a specialist team to strengthen its fleet maintenance regime and was working with the Victorian government to fund and acquire new trucks.

“This has seen the Victorian government investing $40 million over four years towards a rolling fleet replacement program as part of the 2025-26 state budget,” the spokesperson said.

“This is in addition to $15.4 million in funding allocated to FRV in the 2024-25 State Budget for five new specialist pumper platform appliances.”

Blowing the Whistle on FRV, Government

Marshall commended the bravery of his colleagues for blowing the whistle on how dire Victorian firefighting had become.

He added it was also important to hold FRV and the Allan government to account.

“What it does is it exposes the underbelly of the government’s attitude towards emergency services, and how irresponsible they are in playing Russian roulette with firefighters’ lives, and that of the community,” Marshall said.

The Allan government did not respond to this statement when contacted by The Epoch Times.

Not an Expiration Date, FRV Says

In July, the United Firefighters’ Union of Victoria was critical of leaked documents from FRV, obtained by News Corp.

The leaked documents showed top FRV bureaucrats allegedly knew for a long time that the state’s fire truck fleet was in crisis, with 132 trucks set to go beyond their 15-year service threshold.

The report, presented to FRV’s executive leadership team in June, outlined issues including increased mechanical failures, soaring maintenance downtime, and an inability to meet essential replacement targets.

Fewer than half of the 144 vehicles due to be phased out over the next five years are expected to be replaced under current plans.

“[The leaked documents’ recommendations] went to Cabinet and was rejected. So we have been lobbying continually, but their [Allan government] silence is deafening. And the response you get is a public relations response that misleads the public to try and create an illusion that all is well,” Marshall said.

FRV told The Epoch Times that while its medium to long-term planning was based on a target fleet replacement age of 15 years, this was not an expiration date.

“Firefighting appliances are purpose-built and can remain in service for long periods, depending on their usage and workload,” the spokesperson said.

“When firefighting appliances require repairs, FRV undertakes these in-house at our Thornbury Workshops for fleet based in metropolitan Melbourne, while our regional-based fleet are serviced and maintained by Country Fire Authority [CFA] mechanical workshops decentralised across Victoria.

“Appliances taken out of service for repair are not released from the workshops and reintroduced to FRV’s fleet until they are safe and fully operational.”