International
Women’s Day 2009
International
Women’s Day 2009 was celebrated on Sunday 8 March. International
Women’s Day has been observed since the early 1900s and this
year’s theme focussed on the community uniting to end violence
against women and girls. The
Sydney International Women’s Day breakfast was attended by female
firefighters and administration staff from across the organisation. The
breakfast, which was hosted by UNIFEM
Australia, included many inspirational speakers including Fozilitun
Nessa from
Bangladesh
– a survivor of an acid attack, reminding us all that violence
against women is still a real issue in society. Two
female firefighters represented the NSWFB, along with volunteers from
the RFS and SES, at the International Women’s Day dinner held at NSW
Parliament House on Friday evening where they had the opportunity to
meet the Minister for Emergency Services, Steve Whan. During
the event, the NSW Woman of the Year was announced and Premier Nathan
Rees acknowledged the efforts of all emergency services personnel in
NSW.
NSWFB
deployments to Victoria
Last week, I was
advised by the Victorian Country Fire Authority (CFA) that no further
deployments of NSWFB firefighters would be required, with more
favourable weather conditions reducing the bushfire risk in country
Victoria
. Since the bushfire
emergency began on 8 February, more than 400 firefighters from as far
north as Tweed Heads, Eden in the south and Temora in the west, have
been to Victoria to assist their colleagues from the CFA and other
emergency services personnel from NSW including the RFS, National
Parks and Wildlife Service, Forests NSW, NSW Police and the Ambulance
Service of NSW. These
firefighters worked tirelessly under difficult conditions to help
our Victorian neighbours in their time of extreme need. I know there
were many other firefighters ready and eager to assist and I thank you
all for your willingness to respond to this disaster. A
number of senior officers will continue to work with the Bushfire CRC
research teams in
Victoria
, helping to
collect and examine data and information that will be used inform
future policy and decision-making around bushfires. The
whole organisation has contributed generously to the Victorian
Bushfire Appeal, with more than $63,000 to be donated to the Appeal on
behalf of the NSWFB. I am
extremely proud of how all permanent and retained firefighters and
support staff have opened their hearts and
their wallets when fellow Australians were in need.
Victorian
Bushfire Appeal fundraiser at Government House
On Sunday 8 March, I
helped the Governor of NSW plant a special ‘Firefighter Rose’ in
the gardens of Government House as part of a Governor’s Open Day to
raise funds for the Victorian Bushfire Appeal and thank the emergency
services for their help in fighting the Victorian bushfires. Her
Excellency Professor Marie Bashir AC CVO acknowledged and thanked the
NSW emergency services, including the NSWFB and RFS, who went to
Victoria
to provide vital replacement crews and other additional technical
expertise and support. Around 3 000 people attended the event and
my thanks go to D platoon firefighters from 18 Glebe, 11 Woollahra and
1 City of Sydney fire stations who attended
with a vintage fire appliance, pumper and aerial appliance and also
the members of the NSWFB Band who provided superb entertainment to the
crowds.
Station
visits
Last week I spoke to
firefighters from 60 Avalon, 6 Mona Vale, 69 Dee Why, 51
Forestville
, 40
Willoughby
and 61 Lane Cove. Next
week I will meet with firefighters from stations in
Sydney
’s inner west.
Graduation
of 20 recruits and accelerant detection dog
Yesterday, I had the
pleasure of attending a unique recruit graduation, with both the
Premier of NSW, Nathan Rees, and Minister for Emergency Services,
Steve Whan. Twenty recruits and our new accelerant detection dog – Winna
– are the latest members of the NSWFB. Out
of the 20 recruit graduates, six are carrying on a family firefighting
tradition. Four are
following in their fathers' footsteps with others becoming third and
fourth generation firefighters. That so many recruits have
followed in the footsteps of their family members really highlights
the proud history of the organisation and I know all of the recruits
will proudly represent the NSWFB. Proud fathers yesterday included
Supt Doug Crotty (retired), SO John Sarson
(retired), Supt Gray Parkes, and Insp Mick Carroll. Retired
Insp Ted Thompson AFSM was also there to congratulate his grandson. Winna
and her handler Leading
Firefighter Scott Henderson today joined
Sheba
and SO Phil
Etienne as part of the K9 Team. The
NSWFB is the only fire service in
Australia
to use canine
expertise for arson detection and the team is on‑call 24 hours a
day to help detect the causes of fires.
First
round of the 2009 NSWFB Firefighter Championships
This weekend, I will
be joined by the Hon Christine Robertson MLC for the opening of the
first round of the 2009 NSWFB Firefighter Championships in Glen Innes.
Local firefighters have been working hard to prepare for the
event and I look forward to catching up with all of the competitors
over the weekend. With
NSW Seniors Week commencing on Sunday 15 March, local seniors have
been invited to attend a special kitchen fire safety demonstration at
the competition ground. It’s
a good time for all stations to promote key messages about seniors
fire safety in their local communities. I
wish all of the teams competing in Glen Innes
all the best – I am looking forward to another great year of
competition.
Handover
of new pumper and launch of Seniors Fire Safety in Tweed Heads
On Friday 6 March,
Minister for Emergency Services Steve Whan visited Tweed Heads Fire
Station to hand over a new Class 3 pumper to firefighters at the
station and to launch the Seniors Fire Safety Campaign. Mr
Whan was joined by Hon Justine Elliot MP,
the Federal Minister for Ageing and Mr Geoff Provest,
Member for
Tweed
, for the launch, along with
around 40 people from local seniors groups, housing associations,
advocacy groups and the local council. Firefighters
provided morning tea for the guests and spent some time answering
questions about fire safety and providing a chance for them to inspect
the new appliance. For
more information about the Minister’s visit, see the intranet
story.
The
new Human Resources and Payroll system goes live
The new SAP Human
Resources Information System (HRIS) goes live from today. This means
that all staff will be paid from the new system on Thursday March 26.
The biggest change for employees is a new easier‑to‑read
payslip, but it also means that NSWFB has implemented an HR Payroll
system acknowledged as one of the best in the world. From
Friday 27 March, all SAP HRIS trained users will start using SAP at
their workplace. ‘Viewing users’ and ‘report users’ will
receive training from April/May. For
more information about the new SAP HRIS system, you can view the intranet
story or access the SAP HRIS site
Firefighters
from 80 Bundeena help to deliver a baby
Earlier today,
firefighters from 80 Bundeena, in their capacity as Community First
Responders, helped to deliver a baby at a home in Bundeena. Retained
Firefighters Amanda Bedwell and Michelle
Stokes immediately went to the aid of the mother‑to‑be,
while the remaining crew members waited outside for the Ambulance to
arrive. RetF
Bedwell and RetF
Stokes assisted the on‑call paramedic, Simon Bedwell,
who is also a retained firefighter at Bundeena, a local doctor and a
midwife during the birth. An
Ambulance crew transported the mother and her new baby boy to
hospital, a both doing well.
RUMOURS
Rumour:
Is it true that all managers will soon be instructed to recycle
paper, recyclable water bottles and drink cans and not fill
garbage bins with material that should be recycled?
Response:
The Commissioner and all CEG members support recycling under Goal 5
of our Corporate Plan - to
protect the environment - and all managers are encouraged to take a
strong leadership role in promoting recycling. Currently
the NSWFB recycles paper and the majority of fire stations
have paper and general recycling facilities through their local
council areas. Contracts
are currently being amended to provide recycling bins in kitchenette
areas of the
Elizabeth Street
,
Alexandria
and Greenacre offices. All staff are
encouraged to use these bins once available and to recycle as much
material as possible.
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