Tasmanian Fire Service's decision to pull 22 tankers from duty after they were found to have technical issues will have a catastrophic impact in a bushfire event, a union says.
Chief Officer Dermot Barry said the Tasmania Fire Service (TFS) had pulled a "small number of vehicles" from "active duty" and that work was underway to modify them.
He said the matter was "specifically related to the distribution of vehicle weight over each axle".
"An external engineering company is being engaged to review the issue, determine the extent of the situation and identify potential solutions, as and if required," Mr Barry said.
"Importantly, the matter is not impacting existing firefighting capability and is not expected to have any material impacts on vehicle availability during the upcoming fire season."
But the Volunteer Fire Brigades Association said the issue affected 75 vehicles in total and was raised by their members in early June.
It said 20 had been decommissioned, with 10 replacements on the way and another 55 were being assessed for potential faults.
The Tasmanian Branch of the United Firefighters Union said the vehicles should never have been put into service.
The union's Stephen McCallum said the four-wheel-drives were designed for uneven terrain to get firefighters as close as possible to difficult-to-reach blazes.
"It's often quite rocky, on slopes, conditions that you do not allow the public to drive cars on, yet we're sending firefighters on these tracks in vehicles that aren't roadworthy," he said.
Mr McCallum said the fault may have contributed to four rollover incidents in four years, one of which left two volunteer firefighters from the New Norfolk brigade in hospital.
"In a major bushfire event, every vehicle is necessary … this will have a catastrophic impact on the TFS's ability to protect particularly the urban fringes and regional communities in Tasmania," he said.
'Carry less water' fix
Labor spokesperson Michelle O'Bryne said the government had taken too long to look into the issues.
"The solutions to overweight vehicles have included having the fire trucks carry less water, removing their spare wheel, and making modifications to vehicles to get them to weight without independent engineering," she said.
"Minister (Felix) Ellis must provide the necessary support and funding for the TFS so that the work on these vehicles is independent, that the solutions are consulted and transparent, are in line with their legal health and safety obligations to provide a safe workplace, and that firefighters are not put at risk with unsafe equipment."
No threat to summer fire-fighting
Fire and Emergency Management Minister Felix Ellis agreed the situation was not good enough.
"That is why there is an engineering review underway to fix this issue," he said.
"Processes in Engineering Services will also be reviewed to make sure this doesn't happen again."
He reiterated that the fault would not impact fire-fighting capacity.
"These vehicles are out of service and I have been advised there is no material impact on capability for the coming fire season. "
Responding to the union's claims, the TFS said it expected the issues would be resolved before the coming fire season.
"Of the 139 vehicles in the light vehicle fleet, 22 are affected. Of the 22 that have been removed from service, it is anticipated that 20 will be replaced before the fire season," Mr Barry said.
