Royal
Lifesaving Society Awards
On Tuesday 9
December, I attended the 2008 Commendation Awards Ceremony for the
Royal Lifesaving Society
Australia
at Government House. During the ceremony, RetF
Brian Jones from 404 New Lambton and SF Damian Hanson from 341 Kariong
were presented with Commendations from the Society for their
actions as firefighters during the 2007
Newcastle
and
Central
Coast
storms. RetF Jones rescued a woman from a
submerged car following flash floods at Lambton and Nobbys Beach, and
SF Hanson rescued three people during floods on the
Central
Coast
. I was proud to witness the public recognition of the skills and
courage of these firefighters and I congratulate RetF
Jones and SF Hanson on their actions.
Reporting
of workplace injuries within 24 hours
In
the past 12 months, there have been significant delays in the
reporting of workplace injuries. It is vital that the Health
and Safety Branch be notified about every workplace injury as quickly
as possible. Early notification is crucial so that the team can make
sure that the injured employee gets the necessary treatment and
support. If you have an injury at work, you
need to report the incident to your supervisor and the Health and
Safety Branch within 24 hours.
This is done by completing a Notification
of Injury, Illness, Exposure & Near Miss form (NIIENM)
and faxing it to the Health
and Safety Branch on 02 9265 2887. For
further information about the injury
reporting process visit the Health and Safety Branch website or
contact Health and Safety on 02 9265
2800 or 1800 425 282. This is a requirement, not something to
get around to if and when you think of it!
Four new
Inspectors promoted
Today
I had the pleasure of presenting Station Officers Andrew Faunce, Stephen
Jones, Brendan Cox and John Hawes, who recently completed the IPP,
with their white helmets and epaulettes as I promoted them to the rank
of Inspector. These four officers are a credit to the service and
their skills and experience will be a major asset to the Brigade in
their new roles.
Long‑life
refreshment packs
After consultation
with staff, the FBEU and advice from nutritional experts, new
long‑life refreshment packs, which contain a fruit pack and
cereal bar and electrolyte/carbohydrate replacement drink powder
sachets, are currently being issued to all fire stations. The
combination of the refreshment packs and replacement drink powder are
designed to provide sufficient short term refreshment to support
hydration, energy levels and recovery of firefighters during
incidents. Stock can be ordered
through your Zone Office by following the order instructions which can
be found in ESCAT. The initial distribution is being handled by a
company that specialises in this type of service. Once completed, we
will review how the packs are stocked, managed and supplied. There has
been some email traffic regarding the price of the packs, however the
company awarded the contract provide the bags, pack them, deliver them
and keep additional stocks on-call. Things are not always as simple
(or cheap) as some people may think.
IVY
the NSWFBs voice recognition system
Over the past two
weeks, IT has been rolling out an interactive voice recognition system
named IVY to Head Office, Greenacre, City of
Sydney
and
Alexandria
, where it has been well received. From today, all NSWFB staff will be
able to access this new directory service by dialling 9.
IVYs menu is easy to use and will
connect you to a department, fire station, a NSWFB mobile telephone,
or a work number. More information about IVY is available on the intranet.
For assistance or feedback on IVY, please email IVY.NSWFB@fire.nsw.gov.au
SOPP 2009
pre‑entry test results
All
candidates who sat for the 2009 Station Officers pre‑entry test
are advised that the Professional Development Uunits
(PDU) online site automated email option has been reactivated. You
will receive your PDU on line password via Groupwise
which will enable you to access the site to view your results. You
will also be notified of your results by Australia Post mail.
Congratulations to those who were successful. To those who missed out,
please keep trying as many people have multiple attempts before
passing. Its worth the effort.
Dealing
with festive season stress
The festive season
can be a wonderful opportunity for families and friends to come
together, to celebrate, to socialise, to spend time away from
work and to take time out. However,
even though this is meant to be a happy time, not everyone feels like
this. Factors like the expense of buying gifts, heightened
expectations of family togetherness, feelings of isolation,
separation, divorce or becoming a step-family can all be reasons why
the festive season can be a stressful or depressing time for some
people. The Health and Safety Branch has put together some
tips on dealing with festive season stress. For further support,
you can contact the Manager of Critical Incident Support and Employee
Assistance, the NSWFB Chaplain or the EAP counselling support line
(1300 361 008).
Retirement
of 155 Bronto
Today, I drove 155
Ladder Platform on its last run from Greenacre to the
Museum
of
Fire
at Penrith. I was the first to drive 155 to a fire call in 1988
as a leading firefighter (SFQ) at Headquarters. 155 Ladder Platform
was funded by TNT to access multi‑storey buildings along the
route of the Sydney Monorail. It has seen a lot of action, including
rescuing people at the City Bowlers Club fire in 1994. The first Bronto
Skylift in
Australia
, and one of the first in the world, it was a major boost to our
capabilities in 1988. We now have 10 Brontos
of various sizes in service, with a new 44 metre unit on order. I was
accompanied on 155s last trip by SO Glen Breen, offsider on the first
fire call, and then Insp Glen Launt
offsider at our first job.
155 is now in safe hands at the
Museum
of
Fire
where it will be used as part of an historical display.
4th
Alarm school fire at Campbelltown
At around 2230 hours
on Wednesday 3 December, firefighters responded to a 4th
Alarm fire at a school on
Cordeaux Street
in Campbelltown. Initial reports indicated that a number of class
rooms were alight. On arrival, firefighters discovered that the
administration building was fully involved in fire, which shared a
common roof with adjoining classrooms. Firefighters acted quickly to
cut the fire off and prevent it from spreading to the classrooms, and
worked for almost two hours to extinguish the fire. Firefighters
remained on scene throughout the night and for much of the following
day while officers from FIRU and the NSW Police investigated the cause
and origin. The NSWFB was praised by representatives from the
Department of Education firefighters quick actions undoubtedly saved
the school from more extensive damage.
3rd
Alarm fire at Tomago
At around 0830 hours
on Saturday 6 December, firefighters from 454 Tarro, 432 Raymond
Terrace, 376 Merewether, 260 Newcastle, 374 Maitland, the RFS and two
Duty Commanders responded to a fire in a large domestic garage in
Tomago. On arrival crews discovered five acetylene cylinders and 3000
rounds of ammunition in the garage and established an exclusion zone
requiring several people from neighbouring houses to be evacuated. The
garage was destroyed by fire and crews set up hose lines to keep the
cylinders cool. Firefighters were on scene overnight, assisted by the
RFS, ensuring that the cylinders were monitored and safe. At 0918
hours the following morning, firefighters made a final check of the
cylinders with a thermal imaging camera and a laser thermometer, with
no further heat sources found. The roads were reopened around 1020
hours and residents allowed to return to their homes.
Santa
sends a Red for a 2nd Alarm
On Tuesday 9 December
firefighters from 88 Campbelltown, 92
St Andrews
, 79 Ingleburn and 87 Rosemeadow were called to an unusual
incident at an electrical retailer in Campbelltown. Following multiple
Triple Zero calls, firefighters arrived on scene to discover large
volumes of smoke coming from the roof of the building. Ten people were
evacuated from the store as firefighters worked to contain the fire
which had started in an electric motor which was powering the fan of
an inflatable Santa. Fortunately the fire was quickly contained to the
roof area, with no serious damage to the building, however poor old
Santa was severely damaged by fire. This is a timely reminder of the
potential dangers of Christmas decorations and I encourage you to
promote the festive
fire safety messages in your local community.
RUMOURS
Rumour:
In the last Commissioners Corner, you stated that the new winter
jackets were not to be worn around the station or at incidents as they
contain synthetics. The current
Spicer jackets can be worn with duty wear.
Is this going to be changed when the new jackets are
introduced?
Response:
My mistake. I've confused everybody. Like the current Spicer jacket,
the new item will not form part of firefighting PPE but the jackets
will be able to worn around the station or office with both duty wear
and dress uniform. They cannot
be worn as part of PPE when attending an incident.
Further details will be provided with an In Order prior to the
jackets being issued.
Rumour:
Is it true that 15 Burwood is losing its Heavy Rescue? If
so, how will we provide adequate rescue coverage in the inner west as
in 2007/08 Burwood was the busiest rescue station.
Response:
This has yet to be finalised. The
NSWFB has assembled a Rescue Working Group that has been given the
task of reviewing the location of rescue appliances and prioritising
training across the greater metropolitan area. The group has
representation from operations, Training and the FBEU. They are
currently deliberating on the strategic placement of Heavy Rescue
Salvages and will deliver recommendations to me shortly. There needs
to be a coordinated spread of Pumper Rescues and Heavy Rescues across
Sydney
.
Rumour:
Is it true management is considering axing the Fire Operations
Journal? How can such an excellent training tool be cancelled?
Response:
The Lessons Learned Centre (LLC) is undertaking an extensive review
of all operational publications including the Fire Operations Journal.
The review is seeking to identify the various types of media that
can be used for the publication of operational information and case
studies. Currently, no firm decision has been made in relation to future
editions of the Fire Operations Journal,
however it is unfortunately true that funding for the journal is
not available this financial year. Despite this, the LLC will continue
to publish similar operational information on its website so that this
valuable information is readily available to all officers and
firefighters.
Rumour:
After 15 months of training, why is Marine 1 not operational
and why is there no outline of qualifications for crewing Marine 1?
Response:
Marine 1 is a vessel in survey and accordingly the operators
have to satisfy the competencies set by Maritime NSW, which includes a
Restricted Coxswains Certificate. The training of personnel
is progressing, though much slower than hoped, and training together
with final crewing configurations will be reviewed in consultation
with the FBEU at the conclusion of the trial in 2009. Despite these
delays, Marine 1 has and will continue to be responded to incidents on
the harbour when available.
EVENTS
67Stn
Northmead D Platoon Deliver Santa to Vision Impaired Kids
Retired
members reunion at 362 Lismore
INCIDENTS
Blackhawk
down drill exercise a success
Meat
pies and gelato close highway after truck crash
COMMISH’S CORNER
Commissioner’s e-mail: Commissioner@fire.nsw.gov.au
Cora Sarmiento, Commish’s PA: 9265 2930
PACSU: fax 9265 2882
Commish’s Corner Rumour Mill: 9265 2627
To contribute a story to the intranet, please contact Public
Affairs Officers: (West) 9265 2613, (South) 9265 2802 or
(North) 9265 2631