Nationals MLC Sam Farraway has rejected calls by firefighters for a "telesquirt" fire truck in the Central West.
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Following the second floor fire at an apartment above Cafe Latte on April 5, veteran firefighter Tim Anderson said Orange and other Central West locations required the aerial equipment more than ever before.
Mr Anderson, a rep for the Fire Brigade Employees Union, said a telesquirt would have allowed firefighters to blast water at the first floor apartment directly through the apartment window facing Summer Street.
He said that Orange City Council had approved development applications for multi-storey buildings, and that an aerial appliance was the only way people could be rescued from upper floors.
"The ladders carried on the trucks simply aren't high enough," he said.
He pointed to the Bloomfield Medical Centre and said "if there was an incident up there and people couldn't evacuate, our ladders wouldn't allow us to get people out of the building".
Mr Farraway, however, indicated there was no need for the equipment in the Central West.
"Fire and Rescue NSW uses an operational risk based approach to resourcing to ensure that firefighters have the right mix of fire trucks and equipment to be able to deal with the types of situations faced in different locations across the state," Mr Farraway said.
"Aerial appliances, often used to fight fires in mid to high rise apartment buildings, have been predominantly located in metropolitan centres, where these types of buildings are concentrated."
Mr Farraway said Fire and Rescue NSW would "continue to monitor the risk and assess the need for location of aerials in these areas".
"I have raised these concerns and will continue to ... to ensure the safety of the people of Orange," he said.
Regarding the Summer Street fire, state MP Phil Donato said: "The feedback I've received from firefighters is that this fire was a difficult job, and there were issues regarding access to the burning building.
"It is believed that if local firefighters had an aerial appliance available, it would have made a big difference in extinguishing the fire much quicker, potentially saving property from further damage.
"It would also have made it a lot safer for the firefighters who were at greater risk without such equipment at their disposal."
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