A Mount Compass CFS Captain has been suspended for speaking out about the brigade’s new truck which he called a lemon and unfit for purpose.

In early September Captain Anthony Baker posted on Facebook and spoke to the ABC about the $450 000 truck, which had been ruled too heavy to be used at full capacity.

At the time he said he knew he could face termination for speaking out but felt he had no other option.

The truck has now been approved by the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR) to operate at a heavier weight than usually allowed under South Australian regulations. 

It has been returned to the Mount Compass brigade.

However, Captain Baker posted on Facebook again yesterday to say, “Please do not contact me with any inquiries to do with Mount Compass CFS as I have been suspended as Captain and cannot have anything to do with CFS (yes that means attending jobs as well).”

He said he sent off numerous emails and tried to talk to many people to resolve the issue before going public with the issue.

The Fleurieu App’s story from 3 September

A Mount Compass CFS Captain says he may be facing termination after feeling compelled to speak out about the brigade’s new $450 000 truck, which he calls a ‘lemon’ and 'unfit for purpose'.

In a Facebook post this morning, Captain Anthony Baker wrote, “The new 34P that was delivered to the Mount Compass brigade has had a number of issues, including

being overweight since delivery.”

“Yes, that's correct, the truck that cost the taxpayers $450 000 is a lemon, along with the other five that have been delivered to other brigades with the same issues."

Captain Baker told ABC Radio Adelaide this morning that the vehicle had been removed about a month ago, after a formal report was made.  

In the meantime Mount Compass volunteers are operating with only one truck, which doesn't have the capacity to carry all of the necessary safety equipment needing to respond to call-outs.

“We’ve been bringing up the issues for this truck for a number of weeks without any response, without any clear response,” he said.

When asked if he was concerned about any repercussions for speaking out, he said he had already received a ‘Reg 21’ for the post which could lead to his dismissal as a volunteer.

He said that local MP David Basham had been “fantastic” in trying to get the matter with the truck sorted out but that he had gone to the media as a last option.

“We’ve had very little help from paid staff in CFS,” he said.  “I’ve taken this as this as far as I can get in CFS but got shut down.”

“I’m not just a whinging volunteer.”

The truck was delivered to the brigade in March.

CFS State Duty Commander Sam Quigley responded to Anthony’s comments, saying the truck was currently “in the care of the CFS”.

He said a meeting with the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator was scheduled for next week, to assess the truck’s suitability to go back into service.

He said he applauded the brigade for lodging a report about the truck but there may have been some communication concerns about the steps that had been taken since

then.

He said the other five identical trucks that had been delivered to other brigades across the state would continue to operate with a reduced water capacity and that he hoped the Mount Compass truck could be put back into service by the end of next week.

Commander Quigley also said he hoped Anthony would not face repercussions for raising the issue publicly and he appreciated why he had done so.

“We take our members safety exceptionally seriously,” he said.

The full text of the Facebook post:

FYI: to the number of people who have asked me where our new truck has going.”

The new 34P that was delivered to the Mount Compass brigade has had a number of issues including being overweight since delivery.

Yes, that's correct, the truck that cost the taxpayers $450000 is a lemon along with the other five that have been delivered to other brigades with the same issues.

So that's six purpose-built trucks that are not suitable for what they were made for.

CFS has now taken our truck (without a replacement) leaving us without a rescue truck and one truck down to protect the area.

Fire season is just around the corner.

Even after myself and our group officer Todd Tracey have continually questioned CFS about a replacement or the time frame to get our truck back, we have received no answers.

Unfortunately, this just shows the incompetence of the paid staff in CFS and how they don't care about the volunteer or the public that rely on us having the equipment needed to do our job safely and to a high standard.

I have also taken this issue to David Basham and he has helped by taking it to the emergency services minister, but still we are without a truck.

“The fire yesterday in Parawa just shows how close we are to fire season and don't forget road crashes (Victor Harbor road numerous accidents).

The Mount Compass CFS will always strive to keep our community safe but we can only do so much with what we have at the moment.

Please share this to as many people as possible so the CFS paid staff actually start to listen to the volunteers, as without the volunteers CFS is nothing.