New water tanks for Bush Fire Brigades as part of COVID recovery

The McGowan Government is funding 61 new water tanks for volunteer Bush Fire Brigades across Western Australia to strengthen the State’s bushfire response and drive economic and social recovery.

Thirty regional local governments will share in more than $800,000 to purchase and install new water tanks for their Bush Fire Brigades during the first round of a $2 million, two-year funding initiative.

The first round of funding targets volunteer brigades that do not have water storage at their station.

Installing water tanks of between 12,000 litres and 170,000 litres allows volunteer firefighters to refill firefighting trucks at their station, which saves time during or after a bushfire.

The funding is part of the State Government’s $5.5 billion WA Recovery Plan of which $15 million was set aside for upgrades to existing emergency services facilities such as bushfire sheds and new facilities to house emergency response vehicles and equipment.

The first round water tanks are expected to be installed in the coming months helping local economies and tradespeople.

A second round of the program funding is planned for early 2021 and will be extended to include water tanks for Bush Fire Brigades not based in towns. 

This will reduce re-fill cycle times for firefighters fighting fires away from townsites and thereby improve bushfire response.

As stated by Emergency Services Minister Francis Logan:

“Volunteer firefighters provide an invaluable service to Western Australia, and this investment will deliver vital new water infrastructure to support their firefighting operations.

“Each of these water tanks have been allocated to Bush Fire Brigades that don’t have access to scheme water or nearby dams, ensuring that this funding is going to areas that need it most.   

“The funding is for local governments to help support their local economies as the State recovers from the effects of COVID-19.”

The full list of recipients is below: