United Firefighters Union of Western Australia

18/06/2026

Quick shout out to the crews that attended this incident, including Butler Career Fire and Rescue Service, who worked meticulously to free the infant trapped in one of the crashed cars.

Road crash rescues, hazardous materials, specialist rescues (including confined space and vertical), bushfires, structure fires, ambulance and police assistance calls, and more - Our Career Fire and Rescue Service possesses capabilities worth properly staffing, adequately funding and appropriately valuing so that it can perform optimally at incidents just like this.

We're having to Fight for Our Future so that every Western Australian can count on our members when they need them the most.

And the Fighting Needs to Stop.

: A baby was trapped in a car after a collision in Perth’s north this morning.

Read in comments.

16/06/2026

16/06/2026

𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐭 𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐤 𝐛𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐖𝐀 𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐫 𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐜𝐮𝐞 𝐒𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐞'𝐬 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐂𝐑𝐈𝐒𝐈𝐒:

🙍‍♂️ 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧 𝐨𝐫 𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐬𝐮𝐛𝐮𝐫𝐛 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐡 𝐌𝐞𝐭𝐫𝐨 𝐀𝐫𝐞𝐚.

🙎 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧 𝐨𝐫 𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐁𝐮𝐧𝐛𝐮𝐫𝐲, 𝐊𝐚𝐥𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐞, 𝐆𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐥𝐝𝐭𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐀𝐥𝐛𝐚𝐧𝐲 (𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐬).

At some point since mid-2024, your local Career Fire and Rescue Resources weren't available when they should have been.

We've recorded 1,733 occurrences so far, and the figures keep climbing.

We're Fighting for Your Safety and the Future of Our Members.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐩, 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐭'𝐬 𝐭𝐨𝐨 𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞...

12/06/2026

Premier Roger Cook tells BHP employees to "stand up for your rights" and "get the best wages and conditions that you can" when commenting on Union action over a new pay deal with BHP.

Meanwhile, the Cook Government/WA Labor and the Department of Fire and Emergency Services WA are gearing up to spend millions fighting WA's Career Firefighters in the WA Industrial Relations Commission after over a year of enterprise bargaining failed to secure appropriate, let alone the best, wages or conditions for Career Firefighters, District Officers to Chief Superintendents, Fire Safety Officers, Applied Training Officers and Communication Systems Officers.

When the WA Career Fire and Rescue Service 'stands up for its rights', the Department of Fire and Emergency Services WA and Cook Government take it to the Industrial Relations Commission. When the WA Career Fire and Rescue Service attempts to negotiate in good faith for 'fair, appropriate and parity driven wages and conditions' (measured, thoughtful, consistent and evidence-based), the Department of Fire and Emergency Services WA and Cook Government provide an offer that fails to address minimum requirements and key claims, let alone delivering "the best" possible outcome.

Commentary like this from Premier Roger Cook is inconsistent with how his government/WA Labor is treating their own essential services, and is a slap in the face for an emergency service struggling significantly with morale, health and wellness concerns, and the worst staffing crisis of its 127 year history.

We're Fighting for Our Future. And the Fighting Needs to Stop.

10/06/2026

𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐚 𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐃𝐚𝐲

Thank you to all of our first responders who ensure that everyone in our community is safe, keep critical infrastructure running and do so many of those extra other things that nobody sees or will ever know about.

🔥 Fire Service members from all brigades, groups, units, the Communications Centre and other services
👮‍♀️ Police
🚑 Ambulance Officers, Paramedics and all associated staff
🚨 State Emergency Service
🚤 Marine Rescue
🔌 Utilities first responders, including ATCO gas and Western Power
🛩️ Aviation, and all other Emergency and Rescue Services

In particular, thank you to our counterparts at St John Ambulance, who continue to respond alongside our members whilst dealing with chronic ramping; the members of the WA Police Union who continue to struggle with staffing numbers, need to fight for penalty rates and battle for general support; and our own members who are having to fight for their health and wellness, proper consultation, adequate wages and conditions, an appropriate rank structure, and at least minimum staffing levels.

WA Labor - Your essential services need tangible action and support, not platitudes. It's time to do better.

09/06/2026

𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐂𝐑𝐈𝐒𝐈𝐒: 𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐤𝐬 𝐮𝐧𝐚𝐯𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝟏,𝟕𝟏𝟐 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐦𝐢𝐝-𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟒

Yesterday, we reached the 1,712th example of WA's Career Fire and Rescue Service staffing CRISIS. Today will bring more examples of fire trucks unavailable to assist the WA Community.

⚠️ Some trucks will be on Restricted Duties

This means they cannot perform all of their required, risk assessed, inbuilt, funded and specifically designed functions. Subsequently, they will not be permitted to attend an incident as the first arriving crew; even if they are next door to the incident.

🚫 Other trucks will be Decommissioned

This means removed from service completely for an entire shift (or shifts) - a 10 or 14 hour + period, with the trucks (that are fully serviceable and capable of being used) left to sit unstaffed on station.

📈 Risk analyses have stipulated that these resources need to be available 24/7 to ensure adequate operational response capabilities.

🙌 The operational environment relies on these resources to be available to prevent gaps in, or degradation of, service delivery.

🔥 The system cannot cope with multiple incidents occuring simultaneously when resources that should be available are not available.

👩‍🚒 Firefighter safety and community safety is placed at risk when the operational environment is operating below minimum standards.

💵 The WA Community is paying for resources to be online 24/7.

👥 The WA community is not receiving the service it needs, expects, deserves and is paying for.

That's why we're having to Fight for Community Safety and Our Future.

And the Fighting Needs to Stop.

08/06/2026

Congratulations to all of the amazing people who received King's Birthday honours today, including Career Fire and Rescue Service District Officer Nigel Elliott who was awarded the Australian Fire Service Medal (AFSM).

Nigel, a volunteer turned career firefighter, progressed through the ranks to his current position as a District Officer in Kununurra. With almost 40 years' experience in emergency services, he has attended over 3,000 incidents and led response teams across the State, including a complex trench rescue in Jandabup in 2017 and the 2023 Kimberley floods.

In addition to his work on the frontline, he has played a significant role in the development of innovative tools that aid response and recovery. It includes the Rapid Damage Assessment tool that has enhanced fire impact evaluation and response, and the Computer Aided Dispatch project that has advanced collaboration with the WA Police Force.

🔥 We'd also like to acknowledge volunteer firefighter Mr Colin James, who was also awarded the AFSM today. Mr James is a Life Member of Darlington Volunteer Bush Fire Brigade, and has served the community for almost 50 years as a volunteer firefighter and in leadership roles of Lieutenant and Captain.

06/06/2026

"𝐀𝐛𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐞 𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫"

We struggled to find a starting point for this post. Murdoch Pump sacrificed to crew the Specialised Equipment Tender, Vincent 1st Decommissioned to send staff to Hope Valley, Cockburn 3.4 Decommissioned and unable to attend a 2nd Alarm bushfire in it's area, a busy ComCen with just 5 staff... The list goes on.

As such, we thought we'd focus on Bunbury.

Yesterday, Bunbury 2nd was left on Restricted Duties for the 10 hour dayshift.

The understaffed crew were mobilised to a 3rd Alarm Structure fire in East Bunbury around 0930. Bunbury 1st, Bunbury Volunteer Fire & Rescue Service (Bunbury 3rd) and Eaton-Australind Volunteer Fire & Rescue Service were also required to attend - essentially making this a 4th alarm incident and leaving the entire area completely without Fire and Rescue coverage while the situation unfolded.

At 1230, Mandurah arrived in Bunbury to provide coverage because Bunbury 2nd remained on Restricted Duties and Bunbury 1st was required to provide fire protection for the 14,000 attendees at the Fremantle Dockers versus North Melbourne AFL game at the local oval. Fremantle 2nd had to be removed from area and sent to Mandurah to cover their area as a result, removing the two pump response capability to incidents in Fremantle's area.

Mandurah, Bunbury 2nd (Restricted Duties), Bunbury Volunteer Fire & Rescue Service (Bunbury 3rd) and Eaton-Australind Volunteer Fire & Rescue Service were then sent to another 3rd Alarm Structure fire (in Bunbury's area) in the afternoon. Another 3rd Alarm that drew upon 4th alarm resources and left Bunbury 1st (already committed at the AFL game) to cover the entire response area alone (Note: Bunbury 1st we're not sent to the Structure Fire, with volunteer crews and volunteer time being called upon instead).

However, we must highlight that Bunbury 1st were needed at the AFL game where they completed a long, drawn out lift rescue - freeing those inside with limited comparable delay.

This is the impact of running an emergency service on fumes.

Absolute cluster indeed.




📸

06/06/2026

Multiple stations were impacted by WA's Career Fire and Rescue Service staffing CRISIS today, including Wangara Fire Station (pictured)

What does this crisis mean?

🚒 Less fire trucks fully operational and available to respond to emergencies

👨‍🚒 Unnecessary risks to firefighter health and safety, both Career and Volunteer

🚨 Longer response times, threatening public safety at incidents such as car crashes, house fires, HAZMAT incidents and more

💰 Expenditure of public money, without providing the basic services being promised - The ratepayer is paying for all of these trucks to be staffed 24/7 as a result of risk analyses, yet they're not receiving the service their funding

During the 2025/2026 financial year, the Department of Fire and Emergency Services WA and WA Labor spent nearly $13 million on overtime. That's $13 million on band-aid solutions, extra shifts and a skeleton service that cannot guarantee it's basic functions.

Issues like this are why we are having to Fight for Community Safety and the Future of Our Members.

And the Fighting Needs to Stop.

29/05/2026

Just another day in WA.

The Career Fire and Rescue Service staffing CRISIS; brought to you by WA Labor and the Department of Fire and Emergency Services WA