By John Schauble
The donation of four, high volume ceiling exhaust fans to a local fire brigade will make the station safer for firefighters by reducing their exposure to diesel exhaust fumes.
The Sassafrass-Ferny Creek CFA received the fans on Tuesday 4 June and are looking forward to getting them installed.
“We were quite literally blown away by this,” said Sassafras-Ferny Creek CFA brigade captain Jeff Harbourd.
The donation came about after the brigade initially sought commercial quotes for the installation a ventilation system in the vehicle engine bay at the station.
This followed member concerns at the noticeable level of diesel fumes.
Among the companies approached for quotes was Bayswater-based manufacturer Air Eng Pty Ltd.
General manager Alan Dashper went one better. A longtime resident of Sassafras, Mr Dashper gave both expert advice on suitable equipment and decided to donate the fans, valued at $8000, ‘in appreciation of the work you do for the community’.
“The CFA are pretty dedicated to what they do,” Mr Dashper said.
“We’ve been here for 35 years and we’ve been through a couple of experiences with bushfires, the brigades are central to the community up here,” he said.
“Our management team had a bit of a heads together and decided to support the brigade”.
The fans will provide for air in the engine bay to be exchanged up to 14 times an hour.
Emissions from diesel truck exhausts can pose a significant health threat to firefighters as they assemble in the engine bay to don their gear for training or when a fire call comes in.
In modern stations, exhaust systems are installed as a matter of course. While the Sassafras-Ferny Creek fire station is less than 25 years old, its design relied on basic mechanical ventilation.
“At our station, turnout clothing hangs on racks along the walls or between the trucks. We don’t have a separate room in which to get changed,” Mr Harbourd said.
“Whenever a truck is used, it needs to warm up for a short time. While it’s idling, exhaust fumes are pumped straight into the engine room, including over the gear racks,” he said.
The brigade has tried to mitigate the problem by reconfiguring the parking of the vehicles, but this proved only a partial solution.
According to Safe Work Australia, the joint federal-state government body that develops workplace safety policy, exposure to diesel exhaust can have both short-term and long-term health impacts.
Short-term exposure can lead to irritation of the eyes, nose, throat and lungs, cause light-headedness, coughing and nausea.
Long-term exposure can worsen asthma and allergies and increase the risk of heart and lung disease, including lung cancer.
Safe Work recommends the installation of exhaust fans as one option to improve air quality where diesel engines are left idling in enclosed spaces.
“We want to say a huge thanks,” said Mr Harbourd.
