As Esperance looks down the barrel of another bushfire season, firefighter training funds promised before the state election remain undelivered, with WA Labor staying tight-lipped over the payment.
The tireless Esperance Volunteer Fire and Rescue Service (EFVRS) was promised $50,000 by Labor —$45,000 to support firefighter training and $5,000 to preserve the service’s unique history.
All 36 firefighters in the fire-prone region of Esperance are volunteers.
When MP Shelley Payne and the Labor candidate Brad Willis announced Labor’s support for Esperance firefighters in February, WA Labor assured the Esperance Weekender that the funds would flow irrespective of whoever won the local seat of Roe, which ultimately remained with Nationals’ candidate Peter Rundle.
“A re-elected Cook Labor Government will deliver $50,000 to Esperance Volunteer Fire and Rescue Service to enhance training facilities, preserve its rich history, and upgrade infrastructure to support both junior and senior firefighters,” the announcement stated.
“A re-elected Cook Labor Government will also deliver funding to support building and training facility upgrades, including to the Brian Willoughby Training Track.”
Since January 1 the Esperance Volunteer Fire and Rescue Service (EVFRS) has responded to 91 incidents, ranging from bushfires, structure fires, rubbish fires and road crash rescues.
At three quarters of the way through 2025 EFVRS is now well on the way to exceeding the number of callouts last year, which was 112 for the whole of 2024.
Depending on the type of incident emergency responders have to attend, the amount of time they must dedicate varies, with bushfire incidents potentially taking several days to extinguish.
Each incident requires volunteers to drop everything, down tools at work, and put concerns about inherent danger to themselves on the back-burner, as they assist in preserving life, and protecting private and government property.
Extra rain across the nation and in and around Esperance this year will also mean bigger fuel loads during the 2025-2026 bushfire season, increasing the hazards posed to the community and its firefighters.
After the life of one Esperance volunteer was lost in a bushfire in Coomalbidgup in 2023, his bravery and commitment was acknowledged in May at both a state and Federal level at the Firefighter Memorials in Perth and Canberra.
A lengthy state coronial inquiry was prompted by the 2016 loss of another EFVRS veteran volunteer who had been warning locals of the approaching fires in the Cascade area, when his life was taken.
The 2019 inquest findings highlighted the importance of resources and training for EFVRS, with Coroner Sarah Linton observing that fire seasons were “becoming extended and unpredictable.”
The extraordinary work of EFVRS was also last month recognised with a WA Firefighters and Emergency Services award being given to volunteer Amelia Fitzgerald for her significant efforts to raise funds for other causes.
UPDATE: Some time after we published this story a spokesperson for Minister Papalia said the election commitment would be delivered within the current financial year.
“DFES is working with the Esperance Volunteer Fire and Rescue Service regarding the State Government’s $50,000 election commitment which will be used for the purchase of display cabinets for historical equipment and upgrades to junior fire brigade training areas, including the addition of a new water tank,” she said.
We asked whether ordinary operational funding to train Esperance firefighters was still in place.
A State Government spokesperson said there was no change to the funding arrangements for the Esperance Volunteer Fire and Rescue brigade.
“All training for VFRS brigades is coordinated and funded through Department of Fire and Emergency Services programs,” she said.
