Tasmania’s State Emergency Service (SES) is getting a $5 million boost to upgrade its vehicle fleet, the state government has announced.
The fleet upgrade will include more than 30 new vehicles, including rapid intervention vehicles that will be sent to units across the state.
Emergency Minister Felix Ellis said the upgrades are necessary to support the “everyday heroes” who save lives in Tasmania.
“We know we’re seeing more frequent and more severe natural disasters and whether that’s bushfires, storms or major flooding, our first responders are there to save lives in Tasmania day in and day out,” he said.
“And investments like these will help them do their job better, it will help keep them safer on our roads and it will bear significant increase in capability.”
SES Director Mick Lowe said the investment will support volunteers and enable paramedics to reach patients faster during road crash rescues and weather events that are becoming “more frequent and more severe”.
“This will be supplemented by other vehicles that are going to be rolled out over the coming years and improve and upgrade equipment that we’re going to be using across SES as we seek to modernise the organisation and address the challenges of the future,” he said.
Lowe said the current fleet is ageing in some areas and the new vehicles will significantly improve service quality and ensure volunteers are equipped to do their jobs effectively.
