After a 50 year drought, the state government is looking to increase the amount of career firefighters in WA with the upcoming state budget allocating $23 million to hire 60 new recruits.

United Professional Firefighters Union of WA Secretary John Marsh told Oliver Peterson on Perth Live it’s is brilliant that the government is acknowledging firefighters and their impact on the community but it is a small investment with a lot of different areas still needing attention.

“Sixty is not near enough, but we’ll take that…we’ve got many station officers and firefighters doing an excess of their 92 hours in a week, to try and make sure the community is safe at all times and even then it’s not enough,” Mr Marsh said.

Press PLAY to hear the full story:

Image: Pixabay