INVERELL State Emergency Service (SES) volunteers will soon take possession of a new state-of-the-art truck specifically designed to respond to storm emergencies and improve safety, Member for Northern Tablelands Adam Marshall announced today.
Mr Marshall said the new truck would replace the existing Inverell SES vehicle and he expected it to be delivered early next month.
“The $205,000 truck features a 6-metre mast with LED lights, hydraulic generator, protection bar fitted with a winch and will be able to respond to flood rescues and storm emergencies such as roof and large tree operations as well as land searches,” Mr Marshall said.
“The storm truck will ensure our SES volunteers are responding to calls for assistance in a state-of-the-art vehicle, equipped for the challenging roles they perform and with safety at the core of the design.”
Mr Marshall said the new vehicle would boost Inverell’s capacity to respond to natural disasters and was the result of hard work and collaboration between community volunteers and Government in developing the best design.
“The design and purchase of the new trucks is part of a $46 million five-year project to ensure the SES fleet is safe, well maintained and fit for purpose,” he said.
“The project – the largest in SES history – started in 2012 and has resulted in the agency acquiring ownership of all its operational fleet from councils to standardise maintenance and design and also improve safety and reliability for volunteers.”
North West Deputy Regional Controller Brain Parson said the new vehicle would serve the community well and the volunteers were looking forward to its delivery.
“The vehicle we have is about 30 years old so it’s certainly time for an upgrade. The new truck meets all the health and safety requirements needed for our volunteers and has a much better equipment storage design,” Mr Parson said.
“We’d like to thank the SES and the State Government for supplying us with this new vehicle; it will certainly be very welcome.”