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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2004 Week 03 Hansard (Thursday, 11 March 2004) . . Page.. 1236 ..

(5) Were protection kits available in the A.C.T. procurement system for this unit on 21 February or before; if so, why were they not dispatched sooner; if not, why were they not available before this time.

Mr Wood: The answer to the member’s question is as follows:

(1) Eight community fire units have been trained and are located in the following areas:

• Simmons Place in Chapman

• Araba Street in Aranda

• Alchin Circuit in Kambah

• Marrakai Street in Hawker

• Dryandra Street in O’Connor

• Wybalena Grove in Cook

• Warragamba Avenue in Duffy

• Munro Street in Curtin

(2) The number of residents trained in each unit is as follows:

• Simmons Place has 27 people trained

• Araba Street has 28 people trained

• Alchin Circuit has 67 people trained

• Marrakai Street has 36 people trained

• Dryandra Street has 30 people trained

• Wybalena Grove has 33 people trained

• Warragamba Avenue has 16 people trained

• Munro Street has 37 people trained

Total: 274 community fire unit volunteers

(3) Initial funding allowed for the purchase of seven trailer units and one fixed box unit and associated firefighting equipment. Six trailers are currently located in the following areas:

• Simmons Place

• Araba Street

• Alchin Circuit

• Marrakai Street

• Dryandra Street

• Wybalena Grove

The trailer unit at Simmons Place will be replaced by a fixed unit by the 20th March. As this was the first fixed unit to be installed the planning application took some time to be developed and to be approved by ACT Planning and Land Authority. Once the fixed unit is installed it will free up a trailer that will go to Munro Street in Curtin.

The remaining trailer is being held back to complete ongoing training and will be placed into service in Warragamba Avenue as funds become available for the purchase of more units. Warragamba Avenue has the lowest fire risk at present due to fuel reduction from the January 18th fires. All units have their full complement of firefighting equipment (hoses, pumps, small gear etc).

Initial funding allowed for the purchase of 14 sets of personal protective equipment for each unit. With a delay of six to eight weeks from time of order to the supply of the clothing, a decision was made to order a range of sizes so it would expedite the implementation of the program. It was found that as community members were trained a

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