Wednesday April 2, 2025
Volume 40 No. 10
$2 inc. GST
The Cobar Weekly Council gifts land to Brennan Centre Pg 3
Local takes on LBV facility manager role Pg 4
Second report on health services released Pg 8
RFS gets a new firefighting tool
The Rural Fire Service (RFS) Cobar for crews to keep an eye on the amount of them out.” Headquarters Brigade is now equipped with water they have in their tank. The new vehicle is designed to carry a crew the latest fire fighting equipment that will “That’s important because if you haven’t of six and has a heavy-duty galvanized steel also offer increased safety for its volunteer got enough water and you’re on the fire line, headboard for rollover protection. firefighters. or if you’ve got people working as offensive “It’s one of a fleet of 35 vehicles within CoThe brigade took delivery of a new state of structure firefighters, you know when to get bar,” Inspector Hagarty said. the art Cat 1 heavy tanker, 4x4, crew cab fire fighting vehicle on Friday. The new vehicle replaces their old Cat 1 truck which will be moved to Louth for use. The new Cat 1 has the capacity to hold 3,300 litres of water and is designed for use in rural and bushfire environments but can also assist in house and structure fires. Inspector David Hagarty, the acting district manager of the RFS Far West Team, was present for the vehicle hand-over on Friday. Inspector Hagarty said 25 years of designing, experience and feedback, along with the latest technology, are now being incorporated into the new vehicles. He explained some of the new features of the Cat 1. The new vehicles now have a bull barmounted remote high-output water monitor (with a 180-degree sweep, 0-90 degrees vertically) along with grass sprays at the sides of the vehicle. “Crew don’t need to get out of the cab, they can operate the monitor from inside,” Inspector Hagarty said. “There’s also protection from an over-run. If they get into a heat situation, they can drop their fire curtains and there’s also a boom spray on the top.” The water sprays over the wheel arches and crew cabin provide occupants with protection Cobar Shire Council general manager Peter Vlatko, acting district manager of the RFS Far West Team, Inspector David Hagarty and the Cobar Headquarters brigade crew from radiant heat. Inspector Hagarty said it’s also easier now with their new fire fighting vehicle on Friday.