CURRENT
NATIONAL SECURITY ALERT LEVEL: MEDIUM
Welcome
to our new Minister
Following
the state election, ministerial portfolios have been announced by the
new Premier, the Honourable Barry O’Farrell MP. We welcome
Michael Gallacher, Minister for Police and Emergency Services, Minister
for the Hunter, and Vice-President of the Executive Council, and look
forward to working with him into the future. Minister Gallacher served
as a career Police Officer prior to entering Parliament in 2003. He
visited Head Office last week and also asked to be shown around City of
Sydney Fire Station
where he met the on-duty crew and senior officers from the operational
Commands. I have also had a number of meetings with the Director General
of the new Ministry of Police and Emergency Services, Les Tree.
Vale
Captain Terry Marshall
On
Monday this week, hundreds of friends, relatives and workmates of highly
respected Nambucca Heads Captain Terry Marshall gathered to pay him
their last respects. Terry was very active in helping to promote fire
safety and FRNSW recruitment to Indigenous communities, and was a
respected role model in his local community, in FRNSW, and throughout
the state. Terry died suddenly and prematurely last week, and will be
greatly missed by all who had the pleasure of knowing him.
Superintendent Dave Gray, a good friend of Terry’s, delivered a moving
eulogy at the funeral on behalf of all of us.
Vale
Senior Firefighter Kent Jackson
I
joined hundreds of friends and colleagues at the funeral service of
Senior Firefighter Kent Jackson last week, after he passed away suddenly
while on duty at City of
Sydney Fire Station
on 31 March. Kent, or ‘Jacko’ joined the NSWFB in May 1975 and
worked at stations across the metropolitan area, including 1 City of
Sydney, 36 Crows Nest, 50 Hornsby, 37 Gordon, 61 Lane Cove, 75 Berowra,
304 Gosford and then back at City of Sydney in 2001. He was a well
known, popular and proud member of FRNSW, and will be sadly missed.
Chief
Supt John Bedford AFSM hangs up his boots
Last
week we farewelled Chief Superintendent John Bedford AFSM, Assistant
Director Preparedness and Response, who had decided that it was time for
retirement. John was highly involved in areas of planning and
preparedness for much of his FRNSW career, particularly in the areas of
Hazmat, CBRN, and counter-terrorism. John played a crucial role in
planning for the 2000 Sydney Olympics, assisted with planning for
Olympics in Salt Lake City 2002, and Athens 2004, and was the principal
planner for events such as World Youth Day. Most recently, he was
the FRNSW Liaison Officer in
Canberra
when our USAR Task Force responded to
Japan
. On behalf of his friends and colleagues in FRNSW, I wished him and
Sandra a long, happy and healthy retirement.
USAR
website resource
There
has been increased interest from staff wanting to know and learn more
about USAR. FRNSW is the lead agency for USAR in NSW, and together with
the Queensland Fire and Rescue Service, plays a national and
international leadership role. This year we have deployed USAR Task
Forces or elements of our capability to the
Queensland
floods,
Christchurch
in New Zealand, and of course, to
Japan
.
The
USAR team at the Ingleburn training centre in conjunction with QED, have
developed a large learning and support resource for USAR operations.
This site provides extensive information for existing USAR operators and
firefighters, and is available to all staff through the intranet.
USAR
training exercise
To
increase our capability across the greater
Sydney
area, twenty FRNSW and four Special Casualty Access Team (SCAT)
paramedics from the Ambulance Service of NSW have just completed their
4-week USAR Category 2 training course. The skills acquisition process
culminated in a 48-hour assessment exercise at the Milperra waste
recycling facility, where trainees live in tents, eat from ration packs,
work in shifts, and use USAR props throughout a realistic scenario.
We
currently have 220 Category 2 trained personnel who make up our urban
search and rescue task force capability. Given our state, national and
international USAR response obligations, we are working toward a formal
classification process with the United Nations. We will complete four
USAR Category 2 training courses in 2011, and a further two courses in
2012, prior to seeking formal INSARAG
(International Search and Rescue Advisory Group) accreditation in
September next year.
Nowra
Commendations
Tonight
I will present commendations to five people for their actions last year
after a car plunged off the
Nowra
Bridge
into the
Shoalhaven
River
. Commendations are being awarded to members of the public
Peter Stanton and John Bryce, along with Deputy Captain John Dun and
Retained Firefighters Gary Gilbert and Wayne Gerstenberg. The entire 405
Nowra crew will receive a Unit Commendation for their outstanding team
work on that day.
The
actions of Mr Stanton and Mr Bryce were instrumental in saving the
survivor. The Nowra crew worked extremely well under very hazardous
conditions while in full view of members of the public and other
emergency services. I am very proud of the professionalism and
resourcefulness shown by crew.
Station
visits
Over
the next few days I will be visiting firefighters at Nowra,
Batemans
Bay
, Jindabyne, Thredbo,
Perisher
Valley
, Queanbeyan and Goulburn. Station visits are always valuable, as
they enable me to hear your points of view and ideas first-hand, while
enabling me to explain our organisational vision and direction.
Bushfire
Danger Period extended in some areas
The
official end to the statutory bushfire danger period was 31 March 2011,
however councils have extended the fire danger period in
Warren
, Walgett, Upper Hunter, Regional Tamworth, Liverpool Plains, Gunnedah
and Coonamble. Following heavy rains and prolific grass growth, these areas
have experienced warm dry weather in recent months, creating perfect
conditions for fire outbreaks. The bushfire danger period has ended in
all other areas across the state due to moist weather patterns
consistent with the La
Nina cycle we have experienced since last year.
Hazard reduction activities are now the priority to reduce accumulated
bushfire fuels. Some areas that are out of the bushfire danger period
may still require a fire permit due to environmental
regulations.
Brigade
Kids Day - Sunday 1 May
Brigade
Kids Day kick-starts Fire Prevention Week
on Sunday 1 May. This is a joint initiative
between FRNSW and McDonald's and aims to help to make families safer
through fire education, while also raising money for the Burns Unit at
The Children's Hospital at Westmead. Crews are encouraged to participate
in promoting Brigade Kids Day and Fire Prevention Week.
Firefighters
are especially encouraged to promote the recently upgraded Brigade Kids
website www.brigadekids.com,
which has fire safety information for all members of our community, and
educational games and activities for children. For further information,
contact the Community Engagement and Development Unit on 9742 7179.
Fire
Station Open Day - Saturday 7 May
Fire
Prevention Week culminates with Open Day, our biggest community event of
the year. Your participation to help make it a success is vital. As part
of Fire Prevention Week, there will be a television commercial (funded
by sponsor GIO) warning of the dangers posed by household
appliances. Various materials will be sent to stations to assist with
Open Day. Contact the Community Engagement and Development Unit on 9742
7179 for further information.
Harmony
Day appreciation
FRNSW
received praise and appreciation from the Department of Immigration and
Citizenship for our role in the 2011 Harmony Day launch in February. As
a key partner agency, we hosted the national launch at City of
Sydney Fire Station
and have supported the Harmony Day initiative for many years. Yesterday,
at the Executive Leadership Team meeting, I was pleased to present a
certificate of appreciation from the Department of Immigration and
Citizenship to David Weir, our CALD Coordinator, for his tireless
efforts and enthusiasm.
Pride
of the Illawarra Awards
The
inaugural Pride
of the Illawarra Awards
emergency service finalists were announced last Friday. These
awards are an initiative of the Combined Rotary Clubs of the Illawarra,
and acknowledge and celebrate the achievements of local emergency
service personnel who have performed community service above and beyond
the call of duty. Congratulations to our four FRNSW finalists: SO Tony
Camilleri, RFF Rachel Cooper, Capt Ken Lawrence, and Dep Capt Fred
Refalo. Winners will be announced on 6 May. For further
information, go to the website.
Anzac
Day March
On
Monday 25 April, Deputy Commissioner John Benson AFSM will be
representing FRNSW at the Anzac Day Dawn Service and will lay a wreath
at the Cenotaph in
Martin Place
. We will also hold our traditional remembrance service at the City of
Sydney Fire Station
, a custom which has been practiced since 1928. I will then lead the
FRNSW contingent and band in the
Sydney
march. Instructions for staff participating in the march will be
circulated shortly.
RSL
LifeCare centenary
Last
week I delivered an address to residents, families and staff at the
RSL
LifeCare
ANZAC
Village
at Collaroy Plateau, as part of their centenary celebrations. Other
speakers included General Peter Cosgrove, Assistant Commissioner Denis
Clifford from NSW Police, and Acting Chief Executive Mike Willis from
the Ambulance Service. I spoke about the ANZAC legend and how it forged
a nation, of the debt we all owe to veterans, and how, in my opinion,
the emergency services help to keep alive the ANZAC spirit in the
community through selflessness, dedication to duty and courage. I
learned while there that local firefighters often drop in so that they
can visit veterans, and how much this means to the residents. As always,
I was very proud to wear the uniform when I heard this.
Direction
to CFU Members
We
are continually working towards creating tools and measures to assist
staff and CFU members operating within the CFU Program. CFU policies,
guidelines, processes and training requirements have been refined to
better support firefighters and CFU volunteers to understand their
roles, responsibilities, and limits. It is important when training or
engaging with CFU volunteers, that you also have an understanding of CFU
policies and supporting guidelines and processes. For further
information, see the intranet
article.
INCIDENTS
School
fire attracts enormous media attention
Just
after midday on Thursday 7 April, crews were called to reports of a fire
in a school building at
Chester
Hill
North
Public School
. 55
Guildford
crew arrived to find the roof area of a building 30m by 15m totally
involved in fire. Fortunately they were advised that all students had
been evacuated safely and were able to immediately concentrate on
attacking the fire. A 2nd Alarm response was requested, and additional
crews from 73
Fairfield
, 62
Bankstown
, 72 Merrylands, 19 Silverwater and 27
Parramatta
responded.
The
old school building had been undergoing renovations and the fire quickly
spread through the roof void, causing extensive damage to the structure.
It took two hours to bring the fire under control and finally extinguish
the blaze. Although all 500 students and staff were evacuated safely,
some students started to complain of minor smoke inhalation. As a
precaution, a total of 16 students and 3 staff were conveyed to local
hospitals by a large fleet of ambulances for further assessment. All
were released later that day.
The
fire received enormous media attention due to the involvement of such a
large number of students. Fire investigators believe that there were no
suspicious circumstances and that the cause of the fire was most likely
accidental. This incident highlights the importance of schools having
well rehearsed evacuation procedures. The immediate moving of children
to safety and rollcalls certainly made the job of first arriving
firefighters much easier, and school staff should be commended.
ASK
THE COMMISSIONER
Q:
What is the status of election commitments to staff
Bathurst
and Nowra on the 10/14 roster, and to establish a new
State
Training
College
in
Western Sydney
?
A:
Given
that the election has seen a change of Government, it will take time
for the new Government to work through priority issues in each
portfolio. The Coalition parties made no commitments about Nowra
or the
Training
College
, however the new Minister will be briefed on a range of issues,
including these.
Q:
What is happening with new firefighting boots?
A:
A
public tender process for boots is currently being finalised. One of
our requirements was for a lighter, more flexible boot, following
significant feedback about the current boots.
Q:
Are firefighters going to be issued with their own personal rain coats?
Recent wet weather has highlighted how unpleasant it can be putting on a
raincoat that has been used by others on the previous shift, and that
old raincoats are sometimes no longer waterproof.
A:
Reflective
work raincoats are issued on an appliance crewing basis at present,
and there are no plans to issue them to individuals. Station
Commanders should ensure that old raincoats are replaced as soon as
possible.
Q:
When will all current members complete Respectful
Workplace Training? Is it true that ComCentres won’t participate
in this training until the next financial year because no funds have
been allocated? Surely this type of training should be a priority.
A:
ComCen
staff are encouraged and supported to attend Respectful Workplace
Training when above minimum staffing. Unfortunately to date, the
nature of the current rostering within the ComCen environment has not
allowed this to occur at a rate originally anticipated. A strategic
review is due to be concluded in the second quarter of 2011 that will
examine how ComCen staff can be given better access to such training,
given the need to maintain staff levels for call-taking, dispatch and
radio, at all times. In the latter part of 2011 staff will undergo
training on the new computer aided dispatch system, prior to its
planned implementation in April 2012, and we are examining how
Respectful Workplace Training can be included as part of that program.
COMMISH’S
CORNER