Five new Country Fire Service (CFS) trucks are too heavy to operate at full water capacity and one of them has been taken off the road.
But the service says the trucks should be ready to fight fires at full capacity and rescue people from crashes in a week's time.
The Mount Compass CFS brigade has sent its $500,000 34P pumper appliance back to the service's headquarters and now has only one truck rather than two.
Rescue equipment is being carried in a separate ute owned by the brigade.
The trucks are meant to carry up to 3,000 litres of water, but the CFS has told brigades to only fill them to 75 per cent capacity while the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR) looks at approving them to run at a heavier weight than allowed under South Australian regulations.
Mount Compass captain Anthony Baker said operating at 75 per cent capacity "basically defeats the purpose of having a 3,000-litre truck".
He said his unit could not remove equipment from the vehicle to lower its weight since his volunteers regularly responded to crashes on Victor Harbor Road.
"We cover that whole area — we need a road crash vehicle," he said.
The 3,000-litre truck replaced an old 2,000-litre truck.
Meanwhile, Adelaide had its hottest start to spring in nine years, with firefighters tackling a blaze at Parawa — about 50 kilometres south-west of Mount Compass, yesterday.
The fire burnt about 190 hectares of land, but is now contained.
Solution coming soon: CFS
CFS state duty commander Sam Quigley said the Mount Compass brigade was the only unit to send back its vehicle, with others happy to operate at a lower water capacity.
"There may be some communications concerns, which I think we need to address and providing what steps have been taken in the CFS at different levels to resolve this," he said.
Even at full water capacity, the trucks were still within the manufacturer's weight specifications, he said.
If the vehicle is not approved to go back on the road within the next week, Mount Compass will be given a loan vehicle.
Emergency Services Minister Vincent Tarzia said the brigade's concerns about its truck "are being addressed by the CFS".
"The Marshall Liberal government has equipped volunteers with high-tech trucks, equipment and resources in preparation for the upcoming fire danger season, all part of our $97.5 million package to future-proof SA against bushfires," he said in a statement.
