New
44m Ladder Platform
The
Minister for Emergency Services, Steve Whan, formally presented
City of
Sydney
firefighters with a new $1.7 million, 44m ladder/platform vehicle
at an event under the
Sydney
Harbour
Bridge
last Tuesday. The Minister took the opportunity to gain some
firsthand experience of this vehicle’s capability, taking a ride
with me in the rescue cage to enjoy a bird’s-eye view of the
harbour. The new 29-tonne vehicle has a maximum working height of
44m (14 storeys), a maximum horizontal reach of 26m and can carry
500kg (410kg when pumping water) in its rescue cage. The new
ladder/platform is the most technologically advanced in
Australia
, and has greater manoeuvrability than its 37m predecessor. It was
put through its paces at a factory fire in Lewisham the day before
the official handover, and attended a Surry Hills fire the weekend
before.
Funding
boost for bushfire protection
On
Sunday 14 November, Premier Kristina Keneally and Emergency
Services Minister Steve Whan announced $106.9 million in funding
for bushfire protection in NSW. The $106.9 million package
includes increased aerial attack coordination, upgrades to RFS
pagers and radios, and an extra $84 million for hazard reduction
works by National Parks and the RFS. NSW has already introduced a
series of initiatives to boost the community’s bushfire
protection in the wake of the 2009 Victorian bushfires and the
interim Royal Commission recommendations, including the new Fire
Danger Ratings; identification of more than 800 Neighbourhood
Safer Places; the Emergency Alert telephone warning system; higher
capacity information lines, and more online bushfire information.
Two
new senior appointments to the NSWFB
The
new Director Logistics Support, Emmanuel Varipatis, comes to us
from the NSW Police Force where he was the General Manager of the
Property Group. Emmanuel brings extensive experience in managing
logistics in the emergency services sector as well as a background
in the private sector in construction and technical fields.
Emmanuel started with us on Monday 25 October.
Ms
Fatima Abbas has been appointed as the Director Strategy and
Innovation.
Fatima
comes to us from previous senior positions in NSW Health, the
Department of Premier and Cabinet, and the private sector. She has
been working on secondment in the reform team for the last six
months.
Fatima
took up her position on Monday 11 October.
Thank
you to Finance staff
Last
Wednesday, together with A/Deputy Commissioner Jim Hamilton,
Deputy Commissioner Milkins, and Director Finance and Information
Technology, Richard Host, I hosted a morning tea to thank Finance
staff from Head Office, Greenacre and
Alexandria
for their hard work and commitment over recent months.
Restructures, new governance arrangements, devolution of certain
budget items to Area and Zone Commands, introduction of new
accounting standards, introduction of the new SAP finance system,
new funding collection arrangements, and the yearly audit by the
Audit Office resulted in all Finance staff having to give more
than 100% over an extended period. They did an outstanding job and
the morning tea was a small way in which their hard work could be
recognised.
RW1
Captain’s Conference
Last
weekend, Acting Deputy Commissioner Emergency Management, Jim
Hamilton attended the Captain’s Conference at Dubbo where
Station Commanders from 18 Regional West 1 fire stations met for
their annual conference. The western region covers a huge area and
the conference was an opportunity to share experiences and ideas,
further develop leadership capability, and gain knowledge and
information across a range of topics, including: IT, training,
recruitment, communications and support services for firefighters.
Bathurst
bell tower
I
attended the official reopening of the restored bell tower at
Bathurst Fire Station on 5 November. The observation and bell
tower formed part of the original Bathurst Fire Station on
William Street
that was opened in 1887. The restoration project was undertaken by
Bathurst
retained firefighters, with extensive support from the Bathurst
Regional Council and local community. The tower was restored over
a period of three years, with local TAFE students spending around
2000 hours on the project, and local businesses donating a range
of materials, including paints and timber. The restored
observation and bell tower is now located at the current Bathurst
Fire Station as a reminder of the long and proud history of the
NSWFB to the community. Well done to all involved.
McHappy
Day
On
Saturday 13 November, many firefighters joined with their
communities to participate in the twentieth McHappy Day at their
local McDonald’s restaurants. This is one of the biggest charity
fundraising campaigns for families in Australia, with funds raised
going to support programs including Ronald McDonald Houses, Family
Rooms, Family Retreats, the National Learning Program, Cord Blood
Banks and grants for medical research. McDonald's is a major
community partner of the NSWFB and supports some of our key fire
safety initiatives. Final numbers are still being tallied but by
all accounts it was a great success.
Keep
your work phone number and personnel records up-to-date
It’s
not always easy to find staff phone numbers when you need them,
particularly in this time of rapid change, with new staff and
people on secondments and development opportunities. It’s
important that we make things as simple as we can and ensure that
our data is as up-to-the-minute as possible, so that we can
readily contact the right people when we need to. Please keep your
contact details properly maintained and current at all times by
advising your supervisor for operational personnel, or the
communications administrator for administrative and operational
support staff.
Serious
car accident
Our
thoughts are with Minister Steve Whan and his family this week
following his son’s involvement in a serious car accident on the
weekend. Minister Whan has thanked all emergency services
personnel for their assistance and requested privacy for his
family at this time. Our thoughts go to Steve, Cherie and family,
and we wish
Lachlan
a full and speedy recovery.
INCIDENTS
Six
residential fires and one fatality
On
Saturday 6 November, crews across
Sydney
attended six residential fires at: Surry Hills,
Blacktown
, Doonside, Lidcombe, Potts Point and Hornsby.
The
Surry Hills fire occurred just after 0700 hrs, severely damaging a
townhouse and sadly, resulting in the death of one male occupant.
Crews responded to reports of smoke issuing from a three-level
boarding house terrace in
Flinders Street
, Surry Hills. City of
Sydney Flyer
was on scene in just over five minutes and sent a Red message for
a 2nd Alarm. Crews could hear smoke alarms operating inside the
boarding house when they arrived. Additional crews from City of
Sydney
, 10 Redfern, 18 Glebe, 13
Alexandria
and 13 Hazmat crews attended the incident. Crews wearing SCBA were
able to rescue two people from the townhouse but were unable to
immediately locate a third person reported missing. A secondary
search located a collapsed male who unfortunately was unable to be
revived. The fire was contained to a bedroom on the third floor;
however the remainder of the structure was affected by smoke, heat
and water. The
new City
of
Sydney
44-metre ladder platform was used for the first time, to help
successfully contain the fire to the building of origin. A report
into the cause of the fire is being prepared for the Coroner.
5th
Alarm Lewisham bedding factory fire
At
1245 hours on Monday 8 November, crews were responded to numerous
calls to a factory alight at
Toothill Rd
, Lewisham. 28 Marrickville sent a Red message en route requesting
a 2nd Alarm. Shortly after, Duty Commander West, also en route,
raised the response to a 3rd Alarm due to the large volumes of
smoke visible. 22 Leichhardt was on scene within seven minutes and
reported a bedding factory totally involved in fire, and the
response was escalated to a 5th Alarm. The fire was fuelled by
large quantities of bedding materials including foam, timber and
plastics and created a large smoke plume which was monitored
throughout the incident. There was a major roof and wall collapse
which resulted in the destruction of an adjoining residential
house. Crews working in defensive mode successfully protected a
second house that adjoined the factory. About a dozen local
residents were evacuated and fortunately no injuries were
reported. It took just over one hour to bring the fire under
control. Preliminary investigations have ruled out any suspicious
circumstances. Assistant Commissioner Mark Brown was the Incident
Controller and the following crews attended: 22 Leichhardt, 5
Newtown, 52 Campsie, 28 Marrickville, 17 Drummoyne, 12 Balmain, 34
Riverwood, 14 Ashfield, 15 Burwood, 62 Bankstown, 1 City of Sydney
Rescue and Ladder Platform, 18 Glebe Pumper and Ladder Platform,
13 Alexandria Pumper and Hazmat, 4 Darlinghurst Ladder Platform,
and the ICV.
Triple
fatality at Forest Hill
At
0206 hours on Wednesday 10 November, the RFS and NSWFB crews from
480 Wagga Wagga and 472 Turvey Park were responded to a house
alight in
Dunn Avenue
, Forest Hill (near Wagga Wagga). The first crews on scene
reported that a single-level brick and tile cottage was totally
involved in fire, with persons reported missing. Firefighters
wearing SCBA attempted to conduct a rapid search, however
deteriorating conditions prevented a thorough search. Firefighters
from both services worked together for thirty minutes before
containing the fire which totally destroyed the house. Two
deceased people were located within the collapsed structure and
approximately nine hours later, after sifting through the debris,
firefighters and Police located the body of a third victim. A
report into the circumstances of the fire is currently being
prepared for the coroner.
ASK
THE COMMISSIONER
Q:
What
right do new non-operational staff have to wear the uniform if
they are untrained and have never fought a fire? Is the NSWFB’s
‘hard line’ on some matters due to the influx of new managers
from outside?
A:
None
of the recently appointed Directors wear uniforms. While Deputy
Commissioner Milkins has a title that has normally been
associated with the rank structure and uniform, her role is to
ensure that all support services are run efficiently and
effectively, ie, a non-operational role, and she does not wear a
uniform. The title conveys the importance of her position so
that it is well understood by all staff.
The
so-called ‘hard line’ is not new. The NSWFB has a hard-won
and enviable reputation in the community, and all of us have a
responsibility to protect it. I have the sometimes onerous task
of deciding penalties in disciplinary cases. I do this after
carefully considering all of the facts, and decisions such as
demotions or terminations are never taken lightly.
Q:
In
a recent disciplinary case, Departmental action was taken against
an employee even though they were found innocent by a court of
law. How can this be viewed as fair?
A:
The person was not ‘found innocent’ as has been claimed in
some quarters. The Magistrate discharged the defendant
conditionally, meaning that if court-imposed conditions are not
met, the matter can return to court for a full hearing. The
NSWFB disciplinary process is designed to deal with breaches of
the Fire Brigades Act and Regulations, and is therefore separate
from the judicial proceedings. That having been said, the NSWFB
always takes into account court outcomes where appropriate.
Q:
Are
there plans to staff 405 Nowra on the 10/14 roster?
A:
Yes.
A budget bid has been prepared requesting additional staff to
enable Nowra to move to a 10/14 roster, plus retained crew. This
is in view of the call rate, population, infrastructure and
risk. We are unlikely to know the outcome of budget bids until
the middle of 2011.
Q:
What
is happening with the Personal Protective Clothing (PPC) project?
A:
The
NSW Government has allocated funding over 2 years to enable us
to replace the structural firefighting ensemble (turnout coat
and over-trousers) because of a change to the Australian
Standard. The main change to the Australian Standard is that
over-trousers now must be considered to be ‘stand alone’
garments. Our current over trousers meet all performance
measures, but rely on a ‘layered’ approach, with duty-wear
pants underneath.
To
cut a long story short, new PPC will start to roll out,
hopefully in March 2011. We are finalising design aspects,
fabrics and cost, and should soon place an order. The most
noticeable difference will be colour – for many reasons, black
is one of the worst possible colours for PPC. The new ensemble
will be a ‘sand’ colour, and incorporates many new design
features such as silicon knee pads, flashover hood attached to
coat with press studs, lighter, cooler coat but with
incorporated vapour barrier for added protection.
We
are also reviewing duty-wear clothing and boots, with the
objective of finding lighter, cooler, more comfortable designs.
Q:
Is
it true that 19 Silverwater and 30 Lidcombe are to be moved, yet
again, from Metro West 3 to another Zone, Metro West 2?
A:
No.
COMMISH’S
CORNER