SA to pay more for emergency services

South Australia's volunteer and professional firefighters will get new technology to keep them safer during deadly burn-overs thanks to an increase in the state's Emergency Services Levy.

The levy will increase by 1.5 per cent in 2016/17, adding about $4 to the average household bill.

That will raise $292 million, with the money used to directly fund the state's emergency authorities, including the Country Fire Service, the ambulance service, police and the State Emergency Service.

Emergency Services Minister Peter Malinauskas says the increase will help provide $2.6 million to retrofit new safety systems to existing fire trucks to significantly improve safety for crews who become trapped by an advancing fire and have to endure a burn-over.

That will include sprayers on the outside of trucks, special shields and breathing apparatus.

"This technology dramatically increases the ability of firefighters to survive a burn-over event, which is an incredibly dangerous situation," Mr Malinauskas told reporters on Friday.

Treasurer Tom Koutsantonis said setting the level of the ESL was always a balancing act to minimise the extra burden on taxpayers but also provide sufficient funds to ensure emergency workers had the resources they needed to keep the community safe.

"There's no perfect way of doing this. But when we can keep costs down, we do," he said.