WOODEND’S NEW TANKER HITS THE ROAD

In an official hand-over ceremony, Macedon Ranges MP Mary-Anne Thomas has presented the keys of Woodend’s new Heavy Tanker to brigade Captain Mike Dornau. Also present was District 2 Operations Officer Trent McKinnon who stated that “this new vehicle has been purposely designed for a town such as Woodend, with a growing urban infrastructure as well as extensive surrounding grass and bushland”.
The Tanker body is fitted on the IVECO Euro Cargo 4WD diesel engine powered cab chassis with automated manual transmission and forward control, capable of carrying a crew of five. It carries all of the necessary fire-fighting equipment and has the capacity to use its own water from the large 4,000 litre tank or use an open water source or hydrant. It also has the ability to produce Class Foam.
New operational and safety features include a roll cage in the cabin, a live hose reel that swivels on its base, an electronically-operated joystick-controlled monitor fitted to the bull bar and operating control panels in three locations – cabin, on the deck and at the rear.
Captain Dornau stated that “This is the CFA-funded tanker and not the brigade-owned tanker (Tanker 2) that we have been fund-raising for, which is due for replacement in a few years. We will be giving the community the chance to say hello in the coming weeks, including our Open Day on November 18, once we are fully up-to-speed, excuse the pun!”
Woodend CFA volunteers have now completed the intensive training required to bring their new Heavy Tanker into service, which includes the 19 drivers and more than 40 volunteers who will crew the vehicle.
Mr Dornau added, “We recently said goodbye to our trusty old Tanker 1, which has been re-placed by the new state-of-the-art Tanker. The old T1 has served the Woodend and Macedon Ranges communities admirably for over 15 years. She had been to every major fire in the area and also played a significant role in major fires, including those on Black Saturday fires.
“The new heavy Tanker is miles ahead of the old tanker in terms of both technology and capability, and has already attended several jobs in her first few weeks of service. It adds a whole new dimension to our emergency response not only in the Woodend area, but also the Macedon Ranges and entire state of Victoria if called on strike team duty”.

Photo Captions:
Pic A: Woodend Captain Mike Dornau receives the keys from MP Mary-Anne Thomas.
Pic B: From left to right: Andrew Price, Nat Briggs, Mariette Tuohey, Annette van Huffel, MP Mary-Anne Thomas, Captain Mike Dornau, Simon Bailey, Communications Officer Keith Mason, Tony Rodgers and District 2 Operations Officer Trent McKinnon