CURRENT
NATIONAL SECURITY ALERT LEVEL: MEDIUM
Fire
Prevention Week, Brigade Kids Day and Open Day
Last
week we launched Fire Prevention Week for 2011, starting with Brigade
Kids Day on Sunday 1 May promoting the newly upgraded Brigade Kids
website and supported by our community partner McDonald's. The day was
a great success, raising over $100,000 for the Burns Unit at The
Children’s Hospital at Westmead. Support from Channel 9 meant that
FRNSW had numerous appearances on television programs throughout the
week to help build fire safety awareness leading into winter.
The
week concluded with Open Day on Saturday 7 May, another very
successful day, supported by our Community Partner GIO. I attended
Manly, Dee Why and Narrabeen stations, while Deputy Commissioner
Rosemary Milkins visited
Blacktown
and Castle Hill stations. Deputy Commissioner John Benson and
Superintendent Steven Baker visited Bulli,
Wollongong
, Shellharbour, Unanderra and Warrawong. Firefighters across the State
did a great job promoting Open Day in their local communities. Thanks
to everybody who participated, particularly Community Safety and
Public Affairs who coordinated a huge amount of media coverage; it is
great to be part of such a committed organisation.
Pride
of the Illawarra Awards
Deputy
Commissioner John Benson and Superintendent Steven Baker ZC Regional
South 1 represented me at the Pride
of the Illawarra gala event last Friday night
where the combined Rotary Clubs of the Illawarra recognised and
awarded the exemplary organisational and service efforts of paid and
volunteer emergency service workers across the Illawarra.
FRNSW
finalists Station Officer Tony Camilleri 503 Wollongong, Captain Ken
Lawrence 210 Balgownie, Retained Firefighter Rachel Cooper 207 Albion
Park Rail, and Deputy Captain Alfred Refalo 207 Albion Park Rail,
along with their families, 300 guests and dignitaries attended.
Congratulations to all nominees, and particularly to Station Officer
Tony Camilleri who received the Emergency Service Officer of the Year
award in the paid category in recognition of his emergency service
contributions. See the intranet story for all the details.
Back
by popular demand: Permanent Firefighter Brigade Numbers
When
our new Human Resources Information System, SAP, was introduced, so
too was a single employee numbering system that covered all
classifications: permanent, retained, and support staff. This saw the
end of a long tradition of permanent firefighters having sequential
numbers. FBEU Secretary Jim Casey and I have discussed this on several
occasions and the FBEU asked that I have another look at this
decision. In retrospect, the sequential Brigade numbers helped to
identify each individual’s ‘place in our history’ and my
discussions during station visits identified that a return of the
‘old’ numbering system would be a very popular decision. While it
would be extremely costly (and unjustifiable) to change SAP to
accommodate different streams and types of employee numbers, our
Director of IT, Richard Host and his team have identified a cost
effective solution. Accordingly, once some minor changes have been
made to SAP, the 141 permanent firefighters who have joined us since
the change will be allocated the sequential numbers that they would
otherwise have received, and all new permanent firefighters will be
allocated both an employee number for SAP purposes, and a Brigade
Number. There will be no need to remember both, as SAP will
automatically map employee details from one number to the other.
Emergency
Medical Response - is it a fait
accompli?
I am
aware that there has been significant speculation on the FBEU
Members’ Forum and elsewhere that introduction of Emergency Medical
Response (EMR) for FRNSW is a ‘done deal’ and is imminent. I can
assure everyone that it
is not, apart from a handful of existing
Community First Responder units, and occasional calls for assistance
when ambulances are unavailable for some reason.
During
station visits and in the document on culture change that was
circulated earlier this year, I have raised EMR as an example of how
we need to keep abreast of the latest developments worldwide. The
reason for raising this and other issues is that as an organisation,
and as individuals, we need to be open to the fact that the world is
changing, and we too may have to change in some areas. Unfortunately
some of those with very strong negative views have tended to dominate
current discussions and have (incorrectly) made assumptions based on
the
USA
experience. This is however understandable given the lack of
information until now on this issue.
The
facts at present:
- fire
services around the world are moving toward assisting with basic
EMR, including
Melbourne
where it has been a part of firefighters’ work for a decade.
Fire services, including FRNSW, are up to 10 times less busy than
our colleagues in ambulance services – we clearly have capacity
to assist if needed
- there
is NO current proposal for FRNSW to move into a formal EMR role,
and if there were, it would have to come from the Ambulance
Service of NSW which is the agency responsible for pre-hospital
care, not from FRNSW
- we
have a small number of retained Brigades in towns with no
Ambulance Station that participate in the Community First
Responder Program (as do some SES and RFS units) – these
stations have additional training and respond to most ambulance
callouts, in contrast to the Melbourne EMR model where the MFB
only responds to serious life-threatening cases, and
- there
are a range of significant industrial, logistical, equipment and
training issues that would have to be resolved if FRNSW were to
partner with the Ambulance Service in a basic EMR model.
Feel
free to email
me with questions on this issue, and copy in your chain of
command.
NSW
55th Parliament opened
On
Tuesday 3 May, I was present when NSW Governor Marie Bashir AC CVO
opened the new Parliament in an official ceremony. The Governor was
greeted by the traditional emergency services honour guard, led by
Parade Commander, Station Officer Tony Waller, with 12 representatives
each from FRNSW, Police, Ambulance Service of NSW, RFS, SES, VRA, and
Maritime Services along with the NSW Police Band.
State
Emergency Management Committee Chair appointed
Last
Friday, NSW Premier Barry O’Farrell announced the appointment of
former NSW Labor MP and previous RFS Commissioner Phil Koperberg AM
AFSM BEM to the position of Chair of the State Emergency Management
Committee. In this role, he will advise the Government on the
State’s prevention, preparedness, emergency response, and recovery
relating to natural disasters.
AFSM
investitures
On
Friday 6 May, I attended Government House to see four of our officers,
Captain Ted Ranse from Katoomba, Station Officer Scott Beers from
Moree, Chief Superintendent Neil Harris from Dubbo, and Captain Bill
Muirhead from Deniliquin receive the Australian Fire Service Medal
from our Governor, Professor Marie Bashir AC CVO. My congratulations
to the four worthy recipients who received national recognition for
their major contributions to the community as part of the Australia
Day Honours.
New
structure firefighting ensembles a step closer
Last
Friday, tenders were called for our new personal protective clothing
ensemble. To ensure innovation, compliance with a new Australian
Standard, and the best possible product for our firefighters, our
specifications include the fitting of trace and track technology to
allow monitoring and reporting of the garment’s history, cleaning
and condition. We have specified a complete care package
incorporating measurement and fitting, laundering and repairs,
recycling, storage, and disposal services. The FBEU has been invited
to sit on the Technical Evaluation Committee that will help choose the
new-look structure firefighting ensembles. Work is now starting on a
major review of duty wear.
Multi-Agency
Incident Training
FRNSW
officers attended a two-day Multi-Agency Incident Training (MAIT)
exercise at Wagga Wagga on 28-29 April. This was the fifth MAIT, a
Counter Terrorism Awareness Program conducted under the auspices of
the National Counter Terrorism Committee. Opened by Acting Chief
Executive Mick Willis of the Ambulance Service of NSW, the course was
attended by officers from RS1, RS2, RS3 and RW3, along with
counterparts from NSW Police Force, Ambulance Service of NSW,
Australian Defence Force and the Rural Fire Service. Training
consisted of a series of lectures on agency capabilities and response
arrangements to a terrorist incident and finished with a
scenario-based discussion exercise involving all participants. The
highlight was a presentation from Paramedic Larry Perkin who gave an
account of his experiences as one of the first responders on scene at
the
London
bombings on 7 July 2005.
Our
No. 1 priority - improving our safety system
To
ensure an appropriate level of safety when firefighters are
undertaking tasks, safety systems including SOGs, Safety Bulletins,
Operational Bulletins and training programs have been developed and
implemented over the years. However, the majority of accidents,
injuries and near misses aren’t actually related to emergency
incidents, with activities in and around fire stations accounting for
a significant number of all firefighters’ injuries.
To
improve safety at both the incident ground and at stations, we are
working on developing our Safety Management System to enhance and
simplify the way we manage all aspects of safety and make information
available to all staff. We have begun this process by examining all
our safety policies and procedures to identify any gaps or
opportunities for improvement.
Property
Services Help Desk
To
help improve internal service delivery for our property management and
give a single point of contact for repair and maintenance requests,
work orders and progress updates, we launched a Properties Help Desk
on Monday 4 April. The Properties Help Desk operates Monday to Friday
between 0730-1600 hours by phone (02) 9742 7557, and will handle
Priority 1 requests to ‘make safe’ and arrange emergency repairs
if required, and Priority 2 requests for coordinating repair work.
Out-of-hours and Priority 3, 4 and 5 requests can be submitted via email.
In
the first month of operating, the Properties Help Desk has received
186 work orders, plus 372 emails. Procedures and details are included
in the intranet article.
Human
Resources Payroll Help Desk
The
new Human Resources Payroll Help Desk also started operating this
month.
This Help Desk provides a single point of contact for all HR and
Payroll enquiries such as leave, change of employee and bank details,
allowances, deductions, entitlement or Award advice, recruitment,
transfers, resignations and retirements. You can contact the Help Desk
by phone (02) 9265 3900 Monday to Friday between 0900-1700 hours, or
by email. Email
enquiries will be responded to by the next working day. See the
intranet article for more information.
INCIDENTS
2nd
Alarm building fire at Chester Hill
At
2200 hours on Sunday 1 May, crews attended a large storage shed fire
in Chester Hill. 85
Chester
Hill reported that a 20m x 15m iron building was totally involved in
fire and requested a 2nd Alarm assignment. A defensive strategy was
implemented and the street was closed to all traffic. A Ladder
Platform was deployed to protect a large exposure of piled mulch.
Crews took two hours to bring the blaze under control and extinguish
the fire which extensively damaged the building and contents. The
cause is currently under investigation and no injuries were reported.
Crews from 85
Chester
Hill, 73
Fairfield
, 55 Guildford, 30 Lidcombe, 62
Bankstown
Rescue and 27
Parramatta
attended the fire.
2nd
Alarm building fire at Cronulla
Just
after 0300 hours on Wednesday 4 May, crews were called to reports of a
shop fire at Cronulla. 54 Cronulla were on-scene within six minutes,
reported smoke issuing from residential units on the top level of a
two-level building, and requested a 2nd Alarm. Two people were safely
evacuated without injury, and crews were successful in containing the
fire to the roof and an upper wall area. It took two hours to bring
under control and extinguish. The roof area of the structure was
extensively damaged and a shoe shop on the ground floor sustained
damage from smoke, heat and water. Crews from 54 Cronulla, 45 Miranda,
46 Sutherland, 21 Kogarah, and 20 Hurstville attended the incident.
2nd
Alarm car repair shop fire at Punchbowl
Just
before 1600 hours on Saturday 7 May, we received numerous Triple Zero
(000) calls to a car repair shop fire in Punchbowl. Both 62
Bankstown
and 64 Lakemba observed large volumes of smoke en route, and requested
a 2nd Alarm. A fire in a spray booth had spread vertically and
laterally, and quickly involved a mezzanine level within the building.
It took crews just over an hour to contain and extinguish the fire.
Three people inside escaped without injury. Crews from 62
Bankstown
, 64 Lakemba, 34 Riverwood, 47 Revesby, 52 Campsie and 21 Kogarah
attended this incident.
ASK
THE COMMISSIONER
Q.
I would like to enquire as to why ANZAC Day leave is only approved,
and not deducted from personal credits, for firefighters marching in
the Sydney ANZAC Day march? There are numerous members and ex-members
of the defence force living in country areas who would like to march
with their local military units or represent the brigade in their own
city.
Would
it be possible to have this leave extended to country areas, in line
with the brigades’ growth in these areas, allowing members to march
in their own cities and towns with families and colleagues?
A.
The NSWFB, now FRNSW, has participated in the official RSL ANZAC Day
march in
Sydney
since 1928. We are the only non-military group approved to
participate. Because of this long-standing tradition and link with
the RSL, FRNSW made the concession for ex-members of the armed
services to attend this march while on duty. Many FRNSW employees
from country areas travel to
Sydney
for this march, and many others participate in local commemorations.
On-duty crews are encouraged to participate in local dawn services
and other ANZAC ceremonies should they wish to do so, provided that
they remain available at all times for emergency calls. Given the
flexibility that already exists to participate locally, providing
paid leave for firefighters throughout NSW to participate in ANZAC
events would be very difficult to justify from the public’s
perspective, and would involve very significant costs. For these
reasons the arrangements will not be changing.
Q.
I understand that Property Services had an external company audit and
compile a register of asbestos at all FRNSW workplaces some time ago.
Clause 44(c) of the OHS Regulation 2001 states that occupiers of the
place of work are to be provided with this register. When will they be
filtered down to each station?
A.
Property Services ensures FRNSW compliance with the requirements of
Section 44(c) of the OHS Regulation in establishing a register of
buildings which may contain asbestos. This register has enabled any
urgent issues along with remedial action for non-urgent work to be
carried out.
The
Act requires FRNSW to have this register readily accessible and
periodically reviewed. As part of this program, the next
review will be carried out in July/August 2011. Inspections will
check completed works and program any future works required as well
as auditing and amending the register as necessary.
In
line with our paperless office strategy, to enable version control
and ensure timely updates, the updated reports will be made
available as part of the Safety Management System on the intranet.
The first register was made available on the intranet from 2007.
COMMISH’S
CORNER