Almost 18,000 new radios will be rolled out to all Country Fire Authority (CFA) brigades across Victoria.
Minister for Emergency Services Jaclyn Symes joined volunteers from Plenty Fire Brigade at the CFA headquarters in Burwood to officially announce the $138 million upgrade of all handheld, vehicle and station base radios.
The new radios have Global Positioning System (GPS) functions on all handheld devices, making it easier for crews to locate firefighters on the ground and ensure their own safety.
Volunteer firefighters will now also have direct communication access with all emergency service agencies in Victoria with the radio’s multiband capability, not just other CFA volunteers. They will also be able to speak with crews from New South Wales and South Australia.
This function will be particularly valuable during mass fire events where more than one agency is deployed such as Fire Rescue Victoria or VICSES, or where interstate crews are deployed to events such as fires that cross state borders.
Last March, 15 CFA districts across the state participated in a three-month pilot program with Motorola Solutions to determine the right radios for the replacement program.
The services contract between CFA and Motorola will be for 10 years. The rollout of the radio replacement program is set to begin in mid-2024 and be complete by the end of 2025.
