Broken zips, sleeve sewn shut: Union raises SA firefighter safety concerns

The firefighters union claims South Australian MFS firefighters are not being provided sufficient protective equipment.

The MFS says its equipment meets industry standards and is sufficient to ensure firefighters can safely respond to calls.

Adelaide fire trucks have been grounded and some firefighting training temporarily cancelled, a union claims, amid concerns about the supply and maintenance of protective gear.

The United Firefighters Union has lodged a dispute in the SA Employment Tribunal, claiming the SA Metropolitan Fire Service (MFS) has failed to provide enough personal protective equipment (PPE) to its firefighters.

In documents lodged to the tribunal, the union argued the MFS had also failed to ensure its protective gear was "maintained, repaired, or replaced such that it continues to minimise risk to the worker who uses it".

"We seem to be faced with a massive failure of the PPE system in the MFS," Union acting secretary Peter Russell told the ABC.

"We've had items sewn on incorrectly, we've had things facing the wrong way, I think we had a sleeve sewn shut at one point in time.

Photos provided by the union to the ABC show MFS gear with broken zippers and repairs.

Mr Russell said it was "impossible" to quantify how much MFS gear the union considered unsafe, as the service was unable to provide records.

"Even the newest gear… we have a very severe concern that the zips on those ensembles are faulty and [are] capable of coming apart during firefighting activities, exposing firefighters to risks of severe burns or death," he said.

The MFS said all of its "current operational structural firefighting" PPE met relevant industry standards and there was enough supply to ensure firefighters could safely respond to calls for help.

"The safety of firefighters and the community is paramount," a spokesperson for the service said.

Mr Russell said firefighters had told him "on many occasions" about their concern for how long PPE was taking to return from laundering.

He said delays of six weeks or longer had been reported to him and it had led to shortages.