Reduced
fire risk cigarettes one step closer
On
Wednesday 26 March I attended a meeting of Emergency Services
Ministers in
Canberra
,
with the NSW Minister for Emergency Services, Nathan Rees. During the
meeting our Minister raised the issue of reduced fire risk cigarettes.
All state and territory governments accepted a proposal to make
reduced fire risk cigarettes mandatory under the Trade Practices Act
as early as next year. The NSWFB has played a leading role in progressing
this proposal and securing support from every fire service and the
Government. More than 4 500 fires each year are caused by cigarette
ignitions and 67 people died in fires attributed to cigarettes
between 2000 and 2005, so this decision represents a major step
forward in reducing the number of fires and fire fatalities in NSW and
across Australia.
2008
Open Day
On
Sunday 1 June NSWFB stations across NSW will open their doors to local
residents for
the 2008 Open Day. The event will give you a chance to boost awareness
of home fire safety and talk to locals first hand about the importance
of smoke alarms and home escape plans. This event is an excellent
opportunity to increase the public�s understanding of your role
as a firefighter and the NSWFB�s
presence in the community. All stations will soon receive their media
kits in order maximise public and media attendance on the day.
Let�s work on making the 2008 Open Day the best one yet.
Seniors
and Fire Safety
This
month�s fire safety campaign is Seniors and Fire Safety.
Throughout April we will focus on an important �at
risk� group in the community, with statistics revealing seniors
are more likely to be injured or killed in a house fire than any other
group. I encourage all firefighters to talk to elderly residents about
how to manage home fire safety by installing smoke alarms and
developing and practising home escape plans regularly. To
distribute this month�s template media release to your local
media click here. For
more information on the Seniors Fire Safety campaign read the
intranet story here.
Earth
Hour
I
would like to thank to all NSWFB employees, families and friends who
contributed to the Earth Hour initiative last Saturday. Many of you
played a vital role in showing how easy it is to cut greenhouse gas
emissions by switching off non-essential power and lights in our
homes, stations and offices for an hour. The NSWFB is committed to
protecting the environment and I would urge everyone to consider
simple ways they can reduce energy consumption on a daily basis. This
can be achieved by turning off all administrative (non-safety and
non-service delivery) lights, monitors, computers, printers and any
electrical appliances, at the power point at the end of use or the
working day. Simple measures like these can help reduce our energy
consumption, carbon footprint and protect the environment on an
ongoing basis.
2008
Royal Easter Show
Congratulations
to everyone involved in the NSWFB stand at the 2008 Royal Easter Show.
3 500 people took the opportunity to have their photo taken with a
firefighter and 7 000 showbags, which
included the new smoke alarm and home fire safety brochures, were
handed out. Firefighters spoke with thousands of showgoers
over the 14 days of show about home fire safety, smoke alarms and home
escape plans. Special thanks goes to
Community Education and Development Unit for their hard work in
getting the stand up and running and to all the firefighters who
manned the stall for the duration of the show.
8th
Alarm hardware store fire
On
Monday 31 March I was in scene to witness 100 firefighters and 25 fire
appliances from across
Sydney
deal with a major fire
in a hardware store at Rosebury. The fire
started shortly after employees of the store arrived to open up, and
soon took hold fuelled by paint, timber and LPG cylinders contained
within the store. The smoke plume was visible across the city. The
first arriving crews entered the hardware store but were forced back
by intense heat and a flash over. Firefighters then worked for more
than seven hours to contain the blaze, which totally destroyed the
store. A number of firefighters and appliances remained on scene since
Monday to extinguish hot spots still burning in the rubble, with the
last appliance leaving the scene at 1520 hours on Thursday 3 April.
Congratulations and thank you to all the firefighters and senior
officers involved in this operation.
3rd
Alarm shopping mall fire
Firefighters
from 34 Riverwood, 85 Chester Hill, 49 Cabramatta, 52 Campsie, 15
Burwood, 20 Hurstville, 64 Lakemba and the aerial appliance from 27
Parramatta were also busy on Monday with a fire in a shopping arcade
at Bankstown. Smoke from the fire was visible up to a kilometre away
and fire crews had difficulty containing the fire because the site was
heavily smoke-logged. It took firefighters more than three hours to
contain and the shop in which it started was severely damaged, with
smoke and heat damage to neighbouring shops.
Greenacre
house fire and rescue
Yesterday
firefighters from 85
Chester Hill,
64 Lakemba, 62
Bankstown, 15 Burwood, 47 Revesby and 27 Parramatta (aerial) attended
rescued four people from a house fire at Greenacre. Firefighters from
85 Chester Hill, who were at a fire duty at a nearby shop, and 64
Lakemba, were
quickly on scene just in time to rescue the four people who were
trapped inside the house. Two other people managed to escape prior to
the arrival of the NSWFB. The family members suffered smoke inhalation
and minor injuries. They were treated by paramedics on the scene and
taken to hospital. The blaze took an hour to contain. It was sad to
discover that the home was not fitted with smoke alarms. This incident
is a timely reminder of the importance of smoke alarms and home escape
plans and I encourage you to actively promote the Change Your Clock,
Change Your Battery campaign over the weekend in light of this
incident.
Firefighter�s
wife named NSW Mother of the Year
Congratulations
to Jennifer Ney, wife of Deputy Captain Doug Ney (493
Wellington
).
On Wednesday 2 April Jennifer was named the 2008 Barnardos
NSW Mother of the Year. The award aims to recognise the vital
contribution women make to children and the wider community. Jennifer
and Doug have adopted and fostered many children over the past 10
years, and Jennifer has devoted much love and time to caring for
children who have been neglected or come from disadvantaged
backgrounds. As a mother, Jennifer has had an extraordinary impact on
the lives of more than a dozen children. She is truly an inspiration
to women everywhere and it is very pleasing to see her receive the
recognition she deserves. Jennifer is now in the running for the title
of 2008 Barnardos
Australia
�s
Mother of the Year which will be announced on 8 May.
RUMOUR
MILL
Rumour:
Is
it true that
Coffs
Harbour
is going 10/14 in the new financial year?
Response:
Currently
257 Coffs Harbour Fire Station is staffed by a Station Officer and
four Permanent Firefighters on the Special Roster; and Captain, Deputy
Captain and 18 Retained Firefighters on call on a 24/7 basis. The
NSWFB has submitted a funding submission to Treasury in support of a
staffing enhancement to provide additional Permanent Firefighters at
Coffs
Harbour
on the 10/14 roster, and is awaiting the outcome of this submission.
This will not be known until the Premier�s budget announcement
in May.
INCIDENTS
Family
camper trailer explodes
Swiftwater
rescue training
Holy
Smoke
Two
weeks in Bangkok helps develop fire expertise
EVENTS
April
Fire Safety Topic - Seniors and Fire Safety
Triple
Zero screensaver project attracts interstate interest
Mortdale
celebrates 100 years of firefighting
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