Each week, FRV publishes a weekly fleet report showing how many fire trucks are off the road, using a traffic-light system to label availability as “normal,” “significant,” or “critical.”
Until recently:
1–23 offline = Normal
24–28 = Significant
29+ = Critical
Now:
1–29 = Normal
30–35 = Significant
36+ = Critical
FRV added just 5 new fire trucks last year — from funding allocated more than six years ago — yet the number considered “normal” to be offline has increased by 6.
At the same time, as the fleet ages, we’re seeing more mechanical failures and more trucks off the road.
Instead of fixing the growing breakdown problem, FRV has redefined what “critical” means.
That’s not improving the fleet.
That’s normalising failure.
Changing how you count doesn’t put trucks back on the road.
This is why firefighters and Victorians are calling for a Parliamentary Inquiry — to expose this kind of “creative” counting that helps protect the Allan Government’s narrative instead of public safety.
