The latest emergency response times show Echuca brigade responded to ‘hazard class two’ incidents within eight minutes 100 per cent of the time from October to December 2019.
It took eight minutes for crews from any brigade area to reach 90 per cent of emergency incidents, according to the CFA figures.
It’s an improvement from the same time the previous year, where the volunteer-only organisation responded to 90 per cent of callouts within its 10-minute target (8:29 minutes).
It’s also an extraordinary result given the CFA experienced an incredibly early and busy start to the fire season in 2019, responding to a significantly higher number of incidents compared to the previous quarter.
Echuca Fire Brigade captain Rob Amos said the brigade had received 98 callouts between October and December last year - almost double from the previous quarter.
“To reach those 100 per cent of the time is fantastic,” he said.
“Anywhere between 90-100 per cent we believe we’re serving the community to standard and this is something we work hard to do.”
CFA District 20 Commander John Cutting said it was an incredible result considering all firefighters were volunteers and many were deployed to help with the devastating NSW and QLD fires.
“All our volunteer brigades in the district, including Tongala, Kyabram and Rochester, performed well,” he said.
“Our firefighters are doing a great job, coming from their homes to assist the community where needed.
“I am very proud of our volunteers and pleased that they’ve maintained a great service delivery to the community.
“Their efforts over summer also supported towns across Victoria and elsewhere interstate.”
Overall, CFA’s statewide compliance with Community Service Delivery Standard sits at 87 per cent from a 90 per cent target, having responded to 7016 emergency incidents during the three-month period.
Police and Emergency Services Minister Lisa Neville said volunteer firefighters did an incredible job.
“They’ve maintained their impressive standards this quarter despite the fire season beginning earlier and being busier than we’ve seen previously,” she said.
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