Child dies in house fire as union blames under-resourcing for delayed response
Quick Look
- A three-year-old child died in a house fire in Werribee, Victoria, with the firefighters union claiming under-resourcing and a lack of a second fire truck at the nearest station delayed the response, preventing crews from arriving sooner.
- The fire service initially misreported arrival times.
AI-generated summary
Why It Matters
A three-year-old child died in a house fire in Werribee, Victoria. The firefighters union claims under-resourcing prevented faster response times. The fire service initially provided incorrect arrival times.
The Victorian firefighters union says under-resourcing prevented crews from arriving sooner at a house fire in Werribee yesterday which claimed the life of a child.
Three-year-old Jordan Dashwood died after a fire started at the boy's family home in Newbury Street just after midnight.
His father Jeremy Dashwood was taken to hospital with serious burns and another child escaped by jumping out of a window.
The first fire crews on scene, from the Country Fire Authority (CFA), arrived more than nine minutes after the fire was reported and Fire Rescue Victoria crews arrived several minutes later.
Fire Rescue Victoria has a target response time of 7.7 minutes.
The United Firefighters Union said the nearest fire station to the house has only one fire truck, which had already been deployed to another incident.
Union secretary Peter Marshall said firefighters had been calling for a second vehicle at the station for ten years.
He said crews would have responded to the incident well within the target response time had they been better resourced.
"The reality is that that particular house fire is very close to the fire station.
Mr Marshall said a senior officer at the Tarneit fire station called him to express his dismay at the situation.
"You can imagine [he] was extremely upset given the fact that the very thing he had been worried about for some time had come to fruition," he said.
The Victorian government was contacted for comment.
A list of incidents issued by Fire Rescue Victoria (FRV) on Monday morning claimed "crews arrived on scene within three minutes".
On Monday evening, however, the fire service acknowledged it had taken longer, with a spokesperson confirming "while FRV crews arrived promptly, this was not within the 3 minutes initially noted".
The spokesperson said the original list of incidents which listed the three-minute arrival time had since been recalled.
"In line with Victoria's complementary fire services model, the closest available resource responded, which meant CFA crews were first on scene," the FRV spokesperson said.
"FRV resources arrived on scene as soon as they became available.
"Our thoughts are with the family and loved ones of the child who tragically died."
What to Watch
AI outlook — possibilities, not facts
Further investigation into the fire and response times.
Very likely · Within weeks
Increased pressure on the Victorian government to address fire service resourcing.
Likely · Within months
Open Questions
- What is the exact cause of the fire?
- What is the Victorian government's response to the union's claims?
- Will there be an independent investigation into the response times?
- What is the current status of the father's injuries?