Whilst a crash doesn't happen very often, that's not the only thing that would cause the ARFF to turn out. But doesn't mean something couldn't be implemented I guess.
So seldom, in fact, that there has never been a survivable accident on an Australian airfield, where the ARFF presence made any difference to the outcome.
This fact was the basis for the removal of fire services from capital city secondary airports and some others, many years ago. Since that time, the statistics have not changed. ARFF, in economist's term, is a classic case of economic waste, expensive regulation that produces no benefit.
A further fact, ARFF services at places like Ballina are NOT required by ICAO, foisting this cost on small airports is home grown regulation. ICAO only mandates ARFF services at international airports, and if it is a small international airport, filing a difference brings Australian into compliance with ICAO.
Has anybody got any current figures? The last ones I saw ( well out of date, now) for one small QLD regional airport was AUD$18.00 per passenger. In terms of present day fares, that is quite a percentage.
Running a UNICOM at Ballina is not going to overload the ARFF service.
Tootle pip!!