As
the Commissioner is on leave, this edition of Commish’s Corner is
from Acting Commissioner John Benson.
New
Minister for Emergency Services
Today, Member for
Monaro, Steve Whan was appointed as the new Minister for Emergency
Services and Small Business. On behalf of the Commissioner, I’d like
to welcome Minister Whan to the position - we look forward to updating
him on the activities of the NSWFB.
Australia
Day AFSM recipients
Three NSWFB fire
officers have received national recognition for their contribution to
fire services. As part of the Australia Day Awards, Assistant
Commissioner Mark Brown, Captain Stan Reimer and Station Officer
Stuart Bear were named as Australian Fire Service Medal (AFSM)
recipients. The AFSM recognises distinguished service by members of
Australian fire services. All three are highly respected members of
the Brigade and the community. I would like to congratulate them on
their achievements and on receiving this prestigious award.
Eighteen new firefighters to protect NSW
communities
On Thursday 28
January, the NSWFB welcomed 18 new recruit firefighters to the rank of
Firefighter at their graduation at the
NSWFB
State
Training
College
in
Alexandria
. The graduates are the first class that was recruited as part of the
2008 Recruitment Campaign. As part of Thursday’s event, Station
Officer Jason Vineburg also received an Individual Commendation for
Meritorious Service for his actions in entering a burning unit to
rescue a woman while off duty in August last year. FF Vineburg is a
credit to the NSWFB and the wider NSW community and I commend him for
his actions.
Retirement
of Ted Mlynarz
Today, 80 people said
farewell to Ted Mlynarz from Supply Services, who retired after 28
years of dedicated service with the NSWFB. During his career with the
NSWFB, Ted was involved in managing a number of significant projects,
including the ESCAT Supply System, and established supply contracts
for firefighting equipment now used by the NSWFB, RFS and SES. He was
also instrumental in the relocation of the Supply team from Five Dock
to the new Greenacre complex. Ted was well-respected by people across
the organisation and in other agencies, with representatives from
suppliers and the Department of Commerce attending his retirement
function. Ted has been a valuable member of the NSWFB and on behalf of
the Commissioner, I wish Ted all the best for his retirement.
Kids
and fire safety campaign 2009
As we know, children
often have a fascination with fire and need to learn the basic rules
of fire safety. Throughout
February, the NSWFB is urging parents to be aware of their child’s
after school activities, as this is the time children are most likely
to play with fire. A media
release template is available to all fire stations to remind the
local community of the dangers posed by children playing with fire. I
urge you to spread these important fire safety messages via your local
media. For more information on the Kids and Fire Safety Campaign,
contact the Community Engagement and Development Unit on (02) 9742
7400.
New class
3 pumpers for Dunheved and
Liverpool
Fire Stations
Two new $500,000
Class 3 fire engines have recently gone into service at 78 Dunheved
and 8
Liverpool
. The official handover for the Dunheved pumper took place on Tuesday
27 January when the Local Member for
Londonderry
, Allan Shearan, handed over the keys to Station Officer Garry
Mitchell. Local Member for Menai, Alison Megarrity officially handed
over the keys to the second pumper to Station Officer
Serge Meunier at Liverpool Fire Station this morning.
2nd
Alarm sub-station fire in Tuggerah
On Friday 23 January,
firefighters from 228
Berkley
Vale, 505 Wyong and 351 Bateau Bay responded to a fire at an
electrical substation in Tuggerah. Firefighters arrived to find a
transformer within the sub-station alight, with thick, black smoke
billowing from the site. Firefighters installed booms to protect
nearby watercourses and were able to commence a foam attack on the
fire once the energy authority had isolated power to the transformer.
Extra foam supplies were transported from
Sydney
to the scene. Firefighters worked closely with the local coastal
patrol, which monitored
Tuggerah
Lakes
to ensure that there was no run off from the fire into the water.
Additional crews from 292 Doyalson and 341 Kariong, and the Hazmat
vehicle from 228
Berkley
Vale, also responded to the incident, with crews remaining on scene
over the weekend.
Extreme
weather conditions keep firefighters on high alert
With temperatures
soaring above 40ºC on Saturday 24 January, firefighters across the
state were on high alert. There were numerous outbreaks of small bush
and grass fires, but the NSWFB’s contingency plan – to have
resources pre‑deployed in at-risk areas – worked extremely
well and meant that a heavy weight of attack could be executed in the
first few critical minutes of the fires. A cool change late in the
afternoon brought with it high winds and some storm activity across
Sydney
, with the NSWFB flooded with more than 600 Triple Zero calls. In
Fairfield
, a tree crashed into a house, while in the Northern Beaches a power
pole toppled onto a car. Between 1800 and 1900 hours – at
the height of the storm – the NSWFB had 35 crews on the road across
Sydney
.
Eighteen
house fires over
Australia
Day long weekend
The Australia Day
long weekend proved to be a busy one for firefighters with 18 residential
fires in three days. In the early hours of Saturday 24 January,
firefighters responded to two serious structure fires. Firefighters
from 8
Liverpool
, 47 Revesby, 49 Cabramatta and the Duty Commander MS3 were
called to a house fire in Hammondville. On arrival the rear of the
house was well alight and despite the best efforts of firefighters, an
elderly woman could not be saved. Two hours later, firefighters from
260
Newcastle
, 252 Carrington, 320
Hamilton
, 376 Merewether and 404 New Lambton responded to a unit fire in
Maryville
. Firefighters arrived to find that a woman had self-evacuated by
jumping off the second storey balcony. Firefighters were able to
quickly contain the fire and search the property, with the unit
severely damaged in the blaze. The woman was treated for minor
injuries and smoke inhalation. Tragically, on Australia Day
firefighters from 360 Leeton responded to another fatal fire. On
arrival, several rooms of the house were well alight and despite best
efforts from all, a young child was deceased. This is a sad reminder
of the ongoing need for all to help in promoting our fire safety
awareness and prevention activities.
Lobbyist
register established
The NSW Government
has recently established a Register of Lobbyists and a Lobbyist’s
Code of Conduct, which takes effect from
1 February 2009
. Professional lobbyists representing third parties are required to be
on the register before they can make any approaches to the NSWFB or
other government agencies or staff.
RUMOURS
Rumour:
It is true that the refurbishment of the Superintendent's office at
MW2 is costing $25K, when there is another office is available and
several stations in MW2 have been unable to get air-conditioning?
Response:
During the restructure in 2007 the Metro West Area Office was
relocated to its current location above 97 Huntingwood. The Zone
Commander MW2 remained in his original office in area above
27
Parramatta
, subsequently becoming the MW2 Zone Office. In 2008 staff
from Operational Training were relocated into the unused office space
adjacent the MW2 Zone Office. A review of space
requirements was undertaken at that time. Funding was provided to allow
minor works to separate the Zone Office and Operational Training
work areas and arrange workplaces for staff on return to work
programs. The total expenditure was less than $15K. No
funding was redirected from station maintenance programs to undertake
this work.
Rumour:
Is it true that firefighters (retained or permanent) have to pay for
specialist PPE (e.g., glasses for CBR or re-sized boots)?
Response:
No. As per the OHS legislation, appropriate PPE is provided by the
NSWFB for all personnel. If it is deemed appropriate, on an individual
risk assessment, to supply specialist PPE, this advice is provided to
zone management for their approval.
Rumour:
In the January heatwave is it true that senior officers attended
RFS Rosehill to request standbys for retained stations due to
inadequate staffing?
Response:
On several occasions during extreme weather conditions and Total
Fire Ban days in January the NSWFB Deputy Commissioner Emergency
Management in consultation with the Commissioner NSWRFS activated
the Bushfire Incident Coordination Centre (BICC) at NSWRFS
Headquarters Homebush. This was to ensure joint planning and
the appropriate resources were deployed and coordinated. At no time
was there any request for non‑NSWFB staff to be deployed at
retained stations.
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
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