- Published:
- Friday 31 July 2020
The Victorian Government today released the latest response times of Victoria’s fire services, which highlight the incredible efforts of Victoria’s career and volunteer firefighters across the state as they worked together to fight the devastating bushfires at the beginning of the year.
Figures for January to March 2020 show the MFB responded to:
- 93.3 per cent of structure fires within 7.7 minutes, above the MFB and government target of 90 per cent
- 95.6 per cent of Emergency Medical Response incidents within 9.2 minutes, higher than the target of 90 per cent.
Overall, CFA’s state-wide compliance with the Community Service Delivery Standard (SDS) currently sits at 87.8 per cent from a 90 per cent target, having responded to 6,196 emergency incidents during the January to March period. This compares to 7,015 for the same quarter in the previous year, a decrease of 12 per cent.
This rate is a measure of the first truck arriving on scene, regardless of brigade area, and is relevant across all hazard classes. The March quarter saw CFA brigades responding to:
- 89.2 per cent of fires in medium-density urban areas within the standard response time of 8 minutes.
- 89.2 per cent of fires in low-density urban areas within the standard response time of 10 minutes.
- 98.8 per cent of fires in rural areas within the standard response time of 20 minutes.
The latest response times are an extraordinary result given Victoria’s firefighters were working relentlessly battling bushfires across the state throughout all of January and February.
The publication of response times provides Victorians with more information about how fire services are working to meet the needs of their community.
As of July 1, 2020, MFB has been replaced with a new agency, Fire Rescue Victoria, which will be reflected in future data.
The MFB data can be viewed at www.frv.vic.gov.au/response-times.
The CFA data can be viewed at www.cfa.vic.gov.au/about/emergency-response-times.
Quotes attributable to Minister for Police and Emergency Services Lisa Neville
“The response times released today highlight the incredible job our firefighters have done keeping the community safe during one of the most dangerous fire seasons Victoria has ever seen.”
“I want to thank each and every firefighter who worked relentlessly hard during this quarter – you undoubtedly saved many lives and properties and we’re so grateful for your dedication.”