COMMISH’S CORNER

Friday 4 April 2008 Number 435. NSWFB
The Rumour Mill No (02) 9265 2627

CURRENT NATIONAL SECURITY ALERT LEVEL : MEDIUM

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