Resident furious that Wattle Flat brigade wasn't called to car fire

Wattle Flat resident Jim Jordan was travelling to Bathurst at around 5.20am on Monday  when he came across a car well alight at Wiagdon.

“The fire was really going, flames about 20-foot into the air,” he said. 

Mr Jordan took steps to report the incident and learnt it had already been brought to the attention of the RFS, at around 5am.

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What he later discovered was that the Eglinton RFS Brigade, not the much closer Wattle Flat Brigade, had been sent to respond to the scene. 

“I cannot believe that you wouldn’t ring a fire brigade that was five minutes from the fire,” he said. 

Mr Jordan said he was thankful to the crews that did attend, however he couldn’t help but think how bad the situation could have turned in the time it took the brigade much farther away to arrive. 

He said that, at the very least, crew members from Wattle Flat could have monitored the situation while they waited for more assistance. 

“I have never seen anything so ridiculous in all my life,” he said.

“If this had have been at the end of January or February, all the brigades would have been out fighting a bushfire at Wattle Flat.”

After being contacted by the Western Advocate, a NSW RFS spokesperson explained that, given the information on hand at the time, the best-equipped brigade was asked to respond to the blaze.

“As the duty officer was of the understanding that the closest, most appropriate Wattle Flat Brigade truck was currently unavailable due to mechanical repairs, they contacted the Eglinton Brigade,” the spokesperson said.

“The Eglinton Brigade left the station shortly after being called with two appliances arriving on scene, managing the incident under normal NSW RFS scene management procedures.”

Despite the RFS response, Mr Jordan was of the understanding that there were other trucks at Wattle Flat that could have been called upon to respond.