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The Canberra Times
The Canberra Times
National
Peter Brewer

Why urban fire trucks failed on the bushfire frontline

Anniversary of the 2003 Canberra fires

What real use is a fire engine with a flammable paper air filter and plastic fittings? In 2003, Canberra's firefighters found out the hard way.

Four years before the January 2003 firestorm, a bushfire broke out at Smith's Gap, west of Bungendore, which highlighted major issues with Canberra's $350,000 Scania fire appliances.

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