Documents show CFA was told dam water at Fiskville was polluted but did not fix problem The Herald Sun revealed the Fiskville contamination scandal in late 2011. THE Country Fire Authority's most senior ranks were told that dam water at the notorious Fiskville training base was toxic but did not fix the problem for almost five months. Hundreds of firefighters went through training using contaminated water at Fiskville even though CFA management was warned in February 2012 via internal emails and a scientific report to urgently clean up its dams. It only stopped using dam water "as a precaution" on June 26 last year, the day after the Herald Sun revealed MFB firefighters were pulled from training because the water was brown and frothy with dangerously high bacteria levels. On July 6 the CFA said there were "slightly elevated levels in health indicators" in the dam training water and that its system would be "open for people to see." But at the time a Fiskville manager had sent an email stating folders relating to water management were "held in my office and are therefore now controlled," and that a computer drive with files relating to the issue were "locked down." Country Fire Authority in cancer timebomb claim at Fiskville CFA's dirty secret at Fiskville Up to 13 dead in CFA contamination scare in Fiskville Cancer scandal lessons ignored Shut Fiskville site indefinitely, say firefighters In a radio interview in July, CFA chief executive Mick Bourke said he believed the water at Fiskville was "generally safe." The Government's handling of Fiskville has become a political issue, with the Opposition saying they will call for an inquiry. The firefighters' union has called for Mr Bourke to resign for failing his employees, claiming the CFA withheld warnings and exposed them to dangerous levels of contaminants. The CFA said in a statement that suggestions it was not transparent were "false, misleading and offensive." The Herald Sun revealed the Fiskville contamination scandal in late 2011 when former chief officer Brian Potter said he believed his multiple cancers were from exposure to toxic chemicals burnt on site 40 years ago. An investigation found more than 20 people who had lived and worked at Fiskville had died or been ill from cancers. The union accused the CFA of not passing on warnings. "It is an absolute disgrace that Victoria's emergency services workers and volunteers have been unnecessarily exposed to hazardous materials in their training at Fiskville," United Firefighters Union secretary Peter Marshall said. Documents obtained by the state Opposition under Freedom of Information show that between June 2008 and the middle of 2012 at least six environment and safety companies had investigated the problems. In February last year, a senior manager at Fiskville sent an email to CFA headquarters saying remediation work on toxic sludge in Dam 1 should be done urgently and that water in Dam 2 was "considered to be outside Reuse Guidelines." The CFA told the Herald Sun in July last year water quality in Dam 2, fed without treatment to the firefighters' hoses, was not related to water quality in Dam 1 - which contains Category A Industrial waste, including arsenic, lead, mercury, lead and hydrocarbons - because it went through an aeration and filter process. However, the documents revealed that in 2009 a report had told CFA management that the water quality in Dam 2 was being adversely affected by the Dam 1 sludge and that it was regularly failing water quality tests. The CFA said in an emailed response to questions that steps were taken to improve the water quality after the CFA received the scientific report in February by mixing the contaminated water with fresh town water. The CFA denied that it had not been transparent, but confirmed computer security was tightened. "Following unauthorised access and release of restricted CFA material, security of computer drives at Fiskville was tightened in June 2012," the email read. The CFA said millions of documents had been provided to RMIT adjunct professor Rob Joy, who held a six-month inquiry. But that inquiry only covered activities at Fiskville up until 1999. The CFA was responding to the 11 recommendations from the $4 million Joy Report. "The CFA will not be distracted in its commitment to addressing those recommendations by a continued malicious, inaccurate and deliberately misleading media campaign driven by those with vested interests in disparaging the facility," Mr Bourke said. Wynsafe occupational report to CFA: "Dam 1 is known to be contaminated with heavy metals and petroleum hydrocarbons from past practices and continues to be contaminated with firefighting foam and hydrocarbons from the flammable PAD. Until this Dam is cleaned up and a means of preventing further contamination is put in place ... Dam 2 will fail to meet the required water quality criteria as it is connected to Dam 1. FEBRUARY 22: Email from Fiskville management to CFA management: "Remove sludge from Dam 1 and remediation, with these works to be scheduled as a matter of urgency ... We should act quickly to remedy the situation to ensure we have steps in place ensuring water quality for fire fighting is of no concern. FEBRUARY 27: In an email chain between CFA staff and managers, in response to a query of what action had been taken to clean up the dams was, "None to our knowledge," and that the site continued not to meet water quality standards on a "regular basis." LATE FEBRUARY: CFA now says it started mixing mains water to dilute the contaminated dam water used to douse training fires. JUNE 20: Metropolitan Fire Brigade pulls its officers from Fiskville training after complaints of brown, frothy water containing dangerous bacteria levels. JUNE 22: Fiskville operations manager Justin Justin's email to staff on site: "Good morning everyone ... I can assure all staff here at Fiskville that our water does meet that standard and poses no risk to people's health and safety. JUNE 25: Herald Sun reveals exclusively in a Page 1 article that the MFB pulled its officers from training. JUNE 26: CFA turns off its recycled water supply and switches to town water. JULY 6: The Herald Sun reveals the CFA knew for 12 years that Fiskville was failing water tests and a report had recommended in 2009 that toxic sludge in the bottom of Dam 1 be removed. 2.22pm: Water sciences company Cardno Lane Piper sends briefing notes to CFA headquarters on words to use to water authorities and "other stakeholders." 4.24pm: Email from Fiskville manager to CFA management states: "Folders relating to water management/testing are now held in my office and are therefore now controlled. We have also locked down the shared F: Drive, with files relating to the issue only open to four staff. 5.10pm: CFA makes public statement saying it believes the water is "generally safe" and that it had "engaged a high calibre expert to review that system ... to ensure that we've got all that on the record and open for people to see." OCTOBER 24: The Herald Sun reported that the CFA had permanently stopped using water in its dams because of firefighters' health concerns and was instead using water from tanks fed with town water.