COMMISH’S CORNER

Friday 07 January, 2005 Number 329 NSWFB The Rumour Mill No (02) 9265 2627
CURRENT NATIONAL SECURITY ALERT LEVEL : MEDIUM

COMMISSIONER’S BUSINESS
What’s in store in 2005
2005 is going to be a busy and exciting year for the NSWFB. The NSWFB is going from strength to strength with international and national recognition of our expertise in areas such as USAR, CBR/Hazmat, fire investigation, business planning, realistic fire training, appliance design and procurement, communications, and many other areas.

My focus is on front-line service delivery, so that firefighters have what they need to help the community, not only when emergencies happen, but pro-actively via our prevention and education efforts. Staff have been helpful in telling me and the Assistant Commissioners and Directors, what they need to improve. We have tried to deliver, and will continue to listen.

2005 will be a year of planning, consolidation, and further improvement. There will be consultation on a number of possible restructures, so that we have everything in place to support the front-line. I ask for your continued support, dedication and ideas. If we move ahead as “one team”, we can move mountains.

Deployment of NSWFB to south-east Asia tsunami disaster
The New Year has certainly begun on a sad note, with the devastating effects of the Boxing Day tsunami continuing to be felt across the world. After a request from NSW Health on 28 December, regarding deployment of medical teams to the disaster areas, the NSWFB responded by attaching SO Bruce Cameron, SF Greg Watson, SO Chris Sykes and SO Tim Fox to ‘Alpha’, ‘Bravo’, ‘Charlie’ and ‘Delta’ medical relief teams as Logistics Officers. The NSWFB was selected as it was the only non-military agency with the capability to rapidly coordinate and manage the required logistical support to enable self-sustainable operations.

The Logistics Officers have been instrumental in setting up operations and ensuring that the medical experts are supplied with everything they need. SO Cameron and SF Watson were called upon to make emergency lighting arrangements while surgeons were operating on victims. SO Sykes and SO Fox (in the Maldives and Sri Lanka respectively) had the advantage of undamaged infrastructure, but were kept very busy.

The two teams in Aceh are being replaced by South Australian and Estonian medical teams. It appears that Australian aid efforts are now focusing more on the use of the ADF, as the military have the advantage of clear lines of command and control, as well as a depth of logistics which non-military agencies find difficult to match.

Currently there are no plans for further medical teams from NSW, nor any further NSWFB involvement. The four members currently deployed are returning to Australia on the weekend.

I am sure that all members of the NSWFB share my pride in the fact that NSWFB disaster response capabilities have been recognised in this way, and that we have played a role, albeit relatively minor, in assisting those affected by this massive disaster.

Joint NSWFB/Relief & Welfare Fund
It should also be a source of great pride to all of us that members of the NSWFB, as was the case after Bali and September 11, have a deep desire to help those in need.

Today we passed the $30,000.00 mark. Thank you for your generous donations, keep them coming. The account will continue to accept donations for the next couple of weeks.

All donors who have registered their donation with the Credit Union will be issued with tax deductible receipts at a later date.

For those who wish to make a donation, the details of the Tsunami Relief Fund account are as follows:

Account Name: Tsunami Relief Fund
Account Number: 104969
Credit Union BSB: 802 825 (for direct crediting from another financial institution)


Away on leave
I will be away on annual leave from Monday 10 January, and will return to work on Monday 7 February. Assistant Commissioner John Anderson will be Acting Commissioner while I recharge my batteries.

OPERATIONAL UPDATE
Exercise Wynyard

In cooperation with City Rail, State Rail Fire Services, NSW Police and NSW Ambulance Service, NSWFB is the lead agency in a counter-terrorism exercise at Wynyard railway station this Sunday 9 January, from 9am to 1pm.

The scenario is a 4th Alarm response to an unidentified substance that has been released on platforms 5 and 6, resulting in a number of casualties. The NSWFB will respond in encapsulated suits, evacuate and decontaminate the injured and detect the spread of the substance.

The exercise will test the NSWFB’s capability to respond to such an incident within the rail tunnel environment. Exercises like this help us to enhance our skills and better prepare us should a real incident occur.

Good luck to Superintendent Michael Guymer, A/Manager CT and Aviation, who has invested a lot of time and effort in putting this exercise together.

NEWS IN BRIEF
Away from Home fire safety message

This year’s first safety campaign is Away from Home fire safety. It is a great chance to inform the community about what precautions they should take while on holidays.
The 2005 Away from Home fire safety campaign materials can be downloaded from the Intranet. Materials include:

· Template media release
· Fact sheet
· Media relations tips

The Away from Home fire safety campaign can be promoted to your local community through radio, television and newspapers using the local media release.

For further information regarding the 2005 Away from Home fire safety campaign contact your regional Community Risk Management Officer or Public Affairs Officer.

NSWFB vs NSW Police basketball match
Sitting with NSW Police Commissioner Ken Moroney last Sunday, I watched as the Police team got the better of us in the latter stages to win 52 points to 30. Inspector Ross Brogan, who refereed the match with Albert Joseph from NSW Police, asked me what I had learned about basketball. Well, there are one pointers, two pointers, three pointers, and everyone seemed taller than me – what else is there to know?

On the up side, $3,593.70 was raised on the night and given to the Red Cross Tsunami Appeal. The money raised through ticket sales, which will go to the Westmead Children’s Hospital Burns Unit is still being tallied, and I’m pleased to inform you that the Sydney Kings and their major sponsors have said they will also make a contribution. Well done to the NSWFB Basketball Club, particularly SF Tim Hickey and the NSWFB Sports Association for such a successful event.

NSWFB Rugby Union Club ‘Bondi Tens’
The NSWFB Rugby Union Club has been invited to compete in the inaugural Bondi Tens Rugby Competition in early February 2005.

The club requires the assistance of players and supporters for the two days of competition. Membership of the Rugby Union Club is open to all firefighters, administrative staff and retired employees who are members of the Sports Association.

Email 'rugby.nswfb@fire.nsw.gov.au' for membership application forms. If you know any retired officers who may be interested in joining the club, please also ask them to email the club.

UPCOMING EVENTS
Ladder 49 Special Screening

On Wednesday 12 January 2005 at 7pm, there will be a special screening of the new feature film 'Ladder 49' at Reading Cinemas, Auburn. Tickets are $9.00. The film stars John Travolta and Joaquin Phoenix. There are still some tickets available: all proceeds go to the Museum of Fire, Penrith.

For further information and to reserve your tickets, please email Inspector Terry Farley or SF Dale Wade-Ferrell. Don't miss out on one of the biggest NSWFB events of the year.

Granville Train Disaster Memorial Service
The memorial service will be held at 11.00am on Tuesday 18 January, at the Bold Street Memorial Gardens, Granville. For any further information, please contact Mark Slater on 4782 4321.

Frontline Tourers Big Ride
The Frontline Tourers Motorcycle Club is having its annual get together, with members from Victoria, ACT, Queensland and NSW expected to attend the two day event. The ride commences at Mount Beauty in the Victorian snowfields on Saturday 12. For approximately $100 you will get two nights’ accommodation and four meals. Sydney riders are departing from McDonalds, Narellan at 7:30am Saturday 12 February. Travel distance is approximately 700km each way.

For more information contact Dave Ryan on 0403 099 082, Rex Meredith on 0414 395 458, or Matt Paynter on 0411 060 759.

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, please contact Public Affairs Officers: Stephen Norris (West) 9265 2613 or John Suter Linton/Tippy Kavalee (South/North) 9265 2802