Union Claims Under-Resourcing Delayed Response to Fatal Melbourne Fire

A fatal house fire in Werribee, Australia, has sparked accusations from the United Firefighters Union that under-resourcing led to delayed response times, potentially costing a child's life. Three-year-old Jordan Dashwood died in the blaze, while his father, Jeremy Dashwood, sustained serious burns. Another child managed to escape by jumping from a window.

“

The reality is that that particular house fire is very close to the fire station.

The first fire crews from the Country Fire Authority (CFA) arrived at the scene more than nine minutes after the fire was reported. Fire Rescue Victoria (FRV) crews arrived several minutes later, missing the 7.7-minute target response time. The union asserts that the nearest fire station to the Newbury Street home has only one operational fire truck, which had already been dispatched to a different incident when the Werribee fire was reported.

“

We've actually seen another fire truck having to come from, I think it was Point Cook, which arrived in about ten minutes. That's just too late.

Union secretary Peter Marshall stated that firefighters have been advocating for a second vehicle at the Tarneit station for the past decade. He expressed dismay that crews would have responded well within the target time if the station had been adequately resourced. Marshall noted that another fire truck had to come from Point Cook, taking approximately ten minutes to arrive, which he deemed "just too late."

“

You can imagine [he] was extremely upset given the fact that the very thing he had been worried about for some time had come to fruition.

Adding to the controversy, an initial incident list from Fire Rescue Victoria claimed crews arrived within three minutes. However, the service later acknowledged the delay, with a spokesperson confirming that while FRV crews arrived promptly, it was not within the initially stated three minutes. The spokesperson explained that the closest available resource responded first, which was the CFA crew, and FRV resources arrived as soon as they became available, adhering to Victoria's complementary fire services model.

“

while FRV crews arrived promptly, this was not within the 3 minutes initially noted.