COMMISH’S CORNER

Wednesday 30 March 2011. Number 510     The Rumour Mill No (02) 9265 2627
CURRENT NATIONAL SECURITY ALERT LEVEL : MEDIUM

CURRENT NATIONAL SECURITY ALERT LEVEL: MEDIUM

  • State election – new government elected

    Following the change of NSW Government arising from last weekend’s state election, FRNSW executives and I have prepared briefings for the incoming Premier and Minister.  I will advise all staff immediately when our new Minister is announced.

    Japan USAR Task Force home safe and sound

    On Tuesday 22 March I welcomed home our USAR Task Force on their return from earthquake and tsunami devastated communities in Japan .  Along with the Japanese Ambassador to Australia Mr Shigekazu Sato, Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione and Acting Chief Executive of the Ambulance Service Mike Willis, I congratulated the Task Force members on their professionalism, courage and dedication. Ambassador Sato gave a very personal and heartfelt thanks on behalf of the Japanese people, and also of his own family who live near the devastated areas.  See the intranet article for more detail.

    Change Your Clock, Change Your Battery

    Daylight Saving ends this Sunday 3 April, and once again fire services across Australia , along with campaign supporter Duracell, are urging householders to change their smoke alarm batteries when they turn their clocks back. I ask that you assist in getting this important safety message out to local media if you haven’t done so already.  The Change Your Clock, Change Your Battery template media release is available on the intranet.

    Many crews will also hold information sessions about maintaining and installing smoke alarms at Bunnings Warehouse stores across NSW this weekend. Watch out for our crew from 71 Castle Hill as they promote the campaign during a cooking segment with Better Homes and Gardens chef `Fast Ed’ this Friday night. We’ll also be spreading the message on Mornings with Kerri-Anne on Friday. See the intranet article for more details.

    International Women’s Day event

    To help celebrate International Women’s Day, we held a seminar at City of Sydney fire station last Wednesday, facilitated by Julie McCrossin.  Julie, a freelance journalist who previously worked as a broadcaster with ABC radio and in television for 20 years, interviewed various FRNSW personnel.  Her bright and engaging style and clear commitment to social justice was well received by attendees and our audience who watched on FireTube. My thanks to those who agreed to be interviewed for showcasing the commitment and achievements of women in FRNSW.

    Seniors Week DVD launch

    Last Friday I attended the launch, at City of Sydney fire station, of a new fire prevention resource for seniors – a DVD featuring co-star of the Mother and Son TV series, Henri Szeps OAM. The DVD, masterminded by Senior Firefighter Melanie Rebane of the Community Safety Directorate, shows seniors the most common causes of fires in the home, and how to avoid them. The MC, retired Assistant Commissioner Bob Dobson AFSM, commended SF Rebane on her vision and hard work in bringing the project to fruition. Henri Szeps gave an amusing, but thought provoking talk and congratulated FRNSW on a great initiative. The DVD will be distributed to all fire stations, to all public libraries, and will be available on our website as well as the website of the University of the Third Age.

    National Young Leaders event

    Yesterday I was a keynote speaker in front of 7,000 eager school students from years 5, 6 and 7 at the Sydney Entertainment Centre who were attending the Halogen Foundation’s National Young Leaders Day. The purpose of the day was to inspire and influence a generation of young people to become leaders and positive role models in their communities. I told them of my personal journey starting as a bushfire brigade volunteer at the age of 13, and of my personal philosophy about leadership: that it starts and finishes with people and honesty, and treating others with dignity and respect. Other presenters included Jessica Watson, youngest to sail solo and unassisted around the world; Kurt Fearnley, World Champion wheelchair athlete; Talia Fowler, one of the top 23 classical dancers in the world in her age group; the Phly Dance Crew; and the Halogen Foundation’s General Manager Mike Martin. It was an inspiration to participate, and it was also the first time in my life that I have been mobbed by people wanting my autograph!

    Firefighter Championships

    On 19-20 March, I was proud to watch 19 teams of firefighters from across the state taking part in the first (wet and muddy) round of the 2011 Firefighter Championships at Morisset Showground.  105 Kelso were declared the overall champions with 1305 points, while Kootingal RFS came in second with 983 and in third place, Dorrigo on 754. Thank you and well done to all involved. Does your station have a ‘demo’ team? If not, why not try putting one together? The new events are contemporary and use the latest equipment. Apart from the competition and camaraderie, your crew will become far more efficient, and safer, due to the extra competition training.

    Health and fitness

    I have received feedback highlighting an increase in the number of Station Commanders taking a proactive approach towards health and fitness promotion. Well done!  The health and fitness team has been involved with health education sessions, programming, goal setting and the provision of support materials to numerous staff to assist them in continuing to make positive steps towards maintaining a strong health and fitness outlook. When the turnout tones, pagers or SMS go off, in reality we have no idea what we are going to face. That is why staying fit and healthy are so essential in our line of work. It’s never too late to start to get fit and to lose some unwanted kilos.

    Improving governance and reducing opportunities for corruption

    As part of our broader review of governance arrangements, we are working to strengthen our Audit and Risk Committee, in accordance with Treasury policy requirements and with an increased emphasis on the implementation and follow up of internal audit findings.  As a result of an internal review process, we have engaged Deloitte as our provider of Internal Audit Services up to 30 June 2014.  The team from Deloitte has already met with some of our staff and they will be: preparing an Internal Audit Plan for the next financial year; reviewing incident ground refreshment and records management practices; and developing fraud and corruption risk assessment tools from directorate to station level.  For more information about the internal audit program, please contact Andrew Graham, Assistant Director Strategy and Governance on 9265 3914.

    FRNSW Ball 2011

    This year’s Fire and Rescue Ball will be held in the Grand Ballroom of the Hilton Hotel in Sydney .  With many great raffle prizes to be drawn on the night, a 3-course meal, drinks, a live band and dancing, this is night not to be missed. With a new name and a new era you have the opportunity to be part of something very special.  Bookings for tables are now being taken, so be quick so you don’t miss out – see the intranet for more details.

    FRNSW helps RFS to start its own CFU program

    Following the success of our CFU Program, FRNSW is helping the RFS to start its own similar program in RFS Districts that will act as an entry level for new RFS volunteers.  While the RFS program shares similar objectives to our CFU program, each agency will have its own training, PPE and equipment.  For more information, see the intranet article.

    INCIDENTS

    House fire at Bankstown

    At 1414 hours on Monday 21 March, firefighters from 62 Bankstown and 47 Revesby responded to a house fire at Bankstown .  When the crew arrived, they encountered a rapidly growing fire with heavy smoke issuing from the second level of a two storey house.  The fire quickly spread to the roof, threatening exposures, and a defensive strategy was adopted as a 2nd Alarm was requested.   Crews from 64 Lakemba, 34 Riverwood, 52 Campsie, the ladder platform from 21 Kogarah and the Duty Commander Georges River all responded.   The fire totally destroyed the house, with the roof collapsing during extinguishment. The stop message was sent at 1735 hours.

    4th Alarm house fire and rescue at Birchgrove

    At 1938 hours on Monday 21 March, crews were called to fire in a three-level terrace in Birchgrove. The crew from 12 Balmain were on scene within five minutes and realised that a person was trapped on the top level. Due to the close proximity of the fire affected building to several adjoining premises, they immediately raised the response to a 2nd Alarm.  17 Drummoyne arrived shortly after and assisted in deploying an extension ladder to the top floor to affect the rescue of the person who was conveyed to hospital suffering minor smoke inhalation.

    There was evidence of heavy internal fire loading and real fears the fire would extend to numerous adjoining terraces and the response was raised to a 4th Alarm. It was considered too dangerous to continue an internal attack and a defensive external strategy was deployed using three pumps, two aerials and crews with hand lines located on an adjoining roof. A collapse zone was also established around the premises.

    A ‘position in hand’ message was finally sent at 2115 hours after the fire had caused substantial structure damage and destroyed all the contents of the building. A fire duty was maintained overnight. Well done to all crews involved in effecting a rapid rescue and preventing fire spread to adjoining premises. Crews attended from 12 Balmain, 17 Drummoyne, 38 Pyrmont, 22 Leichhardt, 3 The Rocks, 18 Glebe, 1 City of Sydney, 10 Redfern, 13 Alexandria Hazmat, 9 Hazmat and ICV Alpha.

    Massive clean up after 5th Alarm factory fire and hazmat at Kurnell

    At 0552 hours on Friday 25 March, crews responded to the first reports of a chemical fire burning within a building on Cook Street , Kurnell. The crew from 54 Cronulla were on scene within seven and a half minutes and reported large volumes of smoke from a 40m x 40m building of three levels and the response was immediately raised to a 2nd Alarm. Crews quickly became aware that over 1,000 litres of hydrogen peroxide was involved and that water could not be used in a direct attack onto the fire.

    The fire quickly spread to other products stored within the building including bulk acids and corrosives. All efforts were directed to the structure around the fire to prevent it from spreading to adjoining premises and the response was raised to a 5th Alarm. Due to the smoke plume, police were advised to establish an 800m exclusion zone around the site and several hundred householders were awoken and relocated. Captain Cook Drive was closed to all traffic causing severe traffic disruption throughout the southern suburbs for most of the day. Aerial appliances were used in an attempt to contain the fire and RFS crews assisted in water relays throughout the day. Hazmat crews played a vital role in air sampling and containing contaminated water run off. FireAir1 was deployed as an aerial observation post and local council resources were required to provide large quantities of sand to contain the run-off from the site.

    Foam was used to finally extinguish the bulk of the fire by Friday night with the last of evacuated residents being allowed to return to their homes at 1800 hours. A massive clean up operation of contaminated water continued throughout the weekend and the site was not declared safe until Monday afternoon. Investigations into the cause of the fire are currently being conducted. Fortunately no injuries were advised. Throughout the lengthy four day operation numerous crews from across the Sydney area attended the incident.

    ASK THE COMMISSIONER

    Q Is it true that following a recent fire, adjoining stations were taken off-line because they had exhausted all of their air cylinders and no truck was available to deliver replacements? Is it also true that there were long delays in calling in a retained firefighter to staff the LSV during a 5th Alarm at Warwick Farm? Isn’t it time for management to admit a mistake was made with the new LSV procedures and go back to having them staffed 24/7 by permanent staff?

    A: Obviously this area needs significant work, and the arrangements are not working as envisaged.Logistic Support Vehicles (LSVs) in Sydney have not been available on a number of occasions and this has resulted in some delays in the transport of replacement SCBA cylinders, however operational capability and coverage has never been significantly compromised. The changes to the staffing of the LSVs on 1 October 2010 were implemented to provide for the transfer of permanent staff to Lismore, Batemans Bay, Cessnock, Maitland and Nelson Bay, with the additional intention of providing 10/14 positions for firefighters on suitable duties. 

    The changes were supported by the Fire Brigade Employee's Union (FBEU). However it has since been found that the availability of alternative duties firefighters is variable, and sometimes it is not possible to staff the LSVs in this way. New ways of moving internal mail to and from fire stations and other measures have been successful in reducing the workload of the LSVs and we are currently looking at options for the remaining functions carried out by the LSVs. Obviously there needs to be significant consultation with the FBEU, and staff will be notified of any new arrangements when these have been finalised, however operational safety will not be compromised while new arrangements are investigated.

    Q.I was very interested when reading Fire & Rescue News, the article on the new tool to guide resource allocation. The model now used for appliance allocation, retained stations Class 2 pumper, and permanent stations Class 3 pumper, with a risk matrix that is primarily staffing, and incident number related. This is very simplistic, and restricts accurate pumper allocation for some retained stations.

    With the introduction of a new model, using 20 factors to make up a tool for planning appliance allocation, will this reflect  a Class 3 pumper being made available to a retained station, when the model indicates the need, and Zone management support the need?

    A: The new draft resource allocation methodology being developed by FRNSW is based on an objective assessment of risk in each area. The resource index, which is to be based on 20 factors, will be used for planning the staffing and appliance allocation for each current or new station area. In practice, a higher resource index will suggest that permanent staffing is required, and also that a Class 3 pumper should be allocated to that station due to the level of risk. There may well be one-off cases of ‘special circumstances’ that have not been adequately considered in the resource index, however in its draft form the index does link risk, to staff type, to appliance type, as there is a fairly clear relationship.  

    Q. In light of the heavy deployment of USAR staff to both New Zealand and Japan, are Regional staff, (who are USAR trained, but as a result of being transferred to a regional station are no longer used), going to be considered for future deployments?

    A: There are difficulties in mobilising regional firefighters in a timely fashion, as well as serious difficulties in back-filling their positions due to the limited numbers and surge capacity in regional areas. I know that when disaster strikes, the best comes out in our people. All of us want to be involved and to assist. However the reality is that we can’t, and that we have to maintain normal operations during specialist deployments. As a disciplined organisation, we have to make decisions based on what is best overall, and we can easily cover absences in metropolitan stations, but not in regional. Those who have the benefit of living and working in regional areas unfortunately will, on the downside, have less ability to participate in specialised qualifications and operations.

    Q: Is it true that with the election of a new State Government, some senior FRNSW executives will be leaving us?

    A: Certainly not to my knowledge.

    COMMISH’S CORNER