COMMISSIONER’S BUSINESS
Katoomba Fire Station opening
This morning I joined the NSW Attorney General and Member for the
Blue Mountains, Bob Debus MP at the opening of the new $2.2 million
fire station in Cascade Street, Katoomba.
The new four bay station is located directly behind the existing
fire station, and is a very impressive two-storey adaptation of the
standard station design.
Royal Humane Society Awards
This afternoon Assistant Commissioner Graham Dewsnap represented me
at the annual presentation of Royal Humane Society bravery awards
by NSW Governor Professor Maree Bashir AC. Receiving the silver medal
for bravery are SO Dennis Rayner and Senior FF Philip Brown for their
attempts to rescue a child from a burning home at Doyalson. For their
efforts SO Rainer and FF Brown previously received the Brigades highest
bravery decoration, the NSWFB Medal for Conspicuous Bravery.
Standards Australia launch
Yesterday I launched Australian Standard 1851-2005, Maintenance of
Fire Protection Systems and Equipment Standard, with Standards Australia
CEO John Tucker and Barry Lee OAM. The new standard is a world first
and will provide industry with clear guidelines for the testing, audit
and maintenance of building fire safety systems, making it easier
for building owners and contractors and safer for building occupants
and firefighters.
Bluey Day cheque handover
On Tuesday afternoon I presented a cheque for $44,000 to the Children’s
Hospital at Westmead and shaved the head of RFS Captain John Parry
and NSWFB SF Hewon Parry. This represents a terrific effort on the
part of those firefighters who shaved their heads and the staff, family
and friends who supported them. Thanks to Chief Superintendent Jim
Smith for all his efforts in coordinating Bluey Day, and to everyone
who participated or donated. Well done.
Reduced fire risk cigarettes update
On Saturday I addressed the Emergency Services Ministerial Council
in Brisbane on the latest in the development of a standard for reduced
fire risk cigarettes. Standards Australia has formed a committee to
develop an Australian Standard by 31 March 2006. The Ministers were
briefed on the latest research from Harvard University, and preliminary
statistics from New York showing a 1/3 reduction in fire deaths. The
Ministers and Federal Attorney General Phillip Ruddock congratulated
the NSWFB on its efforts.
Home fire fatalities
There have been three home fire fatalities in the Newcastle and Lake
Macquarie areas in just over a week, and yesterday I urged the local
community through the media to be ever vigilant about fire safety.
The deaths underline the need for us to maintain out fire prevention
and education efforts throughout the year.
OPERATIONAL UPDATE
Exercise Mercury ‘05
Earlier this week the NSWFB participated in the national counter terrorism
exercise, Mercury ‘05, which notionally tested Police and emergency
services’ capabilities to respond to terrorist attacks during
the Melbourne Commonwealth Games. Staff from State Operations and
PACSU were involved in the exercise which tested our incident management
and public information capabilities. The feedback I have received
from the Police and other emergency services is that our staff once
again performed admirably and are more than ready to respond if the
worst should ever happen. Well done to all involved.
Accessories for portable hand held transceivers
In late 2004 the NSWFB, via the Department of Commerce, issued a Request
for Tender (RFT) for accessories to enable hands free operations of
the Motorola hand held radios. Following an extensive confirmation
trial, consisting of over 100 firefighters at six stations, it has
been determined that the equipment is not suitable for the operational
needs of the NSWFB.
The NSWFB is looking at new options to find equipment that meets
the operational needs of firefighters. I extend my thanks to all involved
in the trial.
LPG Motor Vehicles Safety Bulletin
Safety Bulletin 2005/5 on LPG Motor Vehicles has been published and
can be accessed on the intranet. This bulletin highlights the location
of cylinder service valves for Ford Motor Company vehicles powered
only by LPG.
Station Commanders must ensure that the information contained in
this bulletin is brought to the attention of all staff under their
command. It is suggested that this topic could be covered within the
Station Training Program and should be recorded in the Training Logbook
of all firefighters involved.
RUMOUR MILL
Rumour: Is it true that Commissioner Mullins will
soon take over as Chairman of the State Rescue Board (SRB).
Response: No. The Government appointed Commissioner
Koperberg of the RFS as Chair of the SRB some years ago because the
RFS is not a rescue agency. Given the history of conflict between
rescue services in bygone years, it was seen as important to have
a chair who was not drawn from a rescue agency. This model has seemed
to work effectively and Commissioner Koperberg has always been objective
and fair in his duties as Chair.
Rumour: Is it true that currently region
south is 20 positions short and region west is 12 positions short
and region north 10 positions short, totalling 42 position short?
How is this impacting on the overtime budget, and are these figures
correct?
Response: Until last week these figures were accurate.
With the opening of two new stations in recent months and slightly
higher than normal separations from the Brigades we had staff deficiencies,
which the latest recruit graduations have helped to address. In the
last month we have had 57 recruits graduate from the college, 38 of
them graduating last week.
Overtime and sick leave are way over budget. In September, levels
of sick leave were the highest seen for many years, most of it being
on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Against an overtime budget of less
than $15 million we are tracking to a $10 million blow-out to $25
million. This is clearly unsustainable and is due to a combination
of very high sick leave, staff deficiencies and retained FF unavailability.
NEWS IN BRIEF
RescuED being rolled out
The NSWFB Road Safety Education for Young Adults (RescuED) program
is being rolled out to primary rescue stations in Sydney, Newcastle
and Wollongong and regional areas in the coming months. The program
involves firefighters with rescue experience visiting high schools
to give a video presentation and demonstration to students aged 15
to 17 years about motor vehicle accidents and the consequences. Based
on an original concept of the Queensland Fire and Rescue Service,
RescuED meets the learning outcomes of the Personal Development, Health
and Physical Education syllabus for Years 9 and 10. This is an exciting
program for the NSWFB and I encourage those stations involved to liaise
with their local high schools so the benefit of our experience of
car accidents as firefighters can be shared with young people who
will soon be getting behind the wheel themselves. Read more on the
intranet.
FIRU Journal
The staff of the Fire Investigation and Research Unit (FIRU) have
put together an electronic journal to inform firefighters of some
of the interesting and relevant work currently being undertaken by
the Unit. The first issue can be found on the intranet and includes
incident analyses of recent fires, research on static electricity
and fuel fires, polyurethane foam and fires in domestic ducted air
conditioning, Ellie's Kennel Report, product safety recalls and frequently
asked questions.
This journal aims to provide feedback to the “frontline”
on the information we gather at the fires we investigate and the research
we undertake into fire behaviour, human behaviour and the impact of
fire on the built environment. Your comments and feedback are encouraged.
In particular we are looking for a better name for this document than
"FIRU Journal", one that suits the nature of the work carried
out and the people who undertake that work, so let us know what you
think. Any comments or suggestions should be directed to Superintendent
Chris Lewis, Manager FIRU.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Airport line exercise
Tomorrow the NSWFB will participate in an exercise to test interagency
cooperation between the NSWFB, Aviation Rescue Firefighting Service
and the RailCorp Emergency Response Unit. The exercise, based around
a rail tunnel incident involving rescue and evacuation of persons
and render safe operation for a suspicious package, will test communications
between agencies and use of the RailCorp Hi-Rail vehicle. The NSWFB
will participate in the evacuation of a passenger train stranded mid-station
with the objective of improving NSWFB strategy and tactics and testing
the capability for multi-level decontamination.
International knowledge sharing
Superintendent Glenn Sheedy, Manager Operational Readiness will contribute
to the NSWFB’s emergency management readiness for underground
transit systems by visiting leading fire services in the UK and USA
during December. Glenn will liaise with the London Fire Brigade and
the New York Fire Department to discuss fire service tactics, training,
planning and exercising. This is an excellent opportunity for the
NSWFB to review lessons learnt from major international incidents
and incorporate them into our response planning and operational tactics.
National Bandanna Day
Next Friday, 28 October marks the 11th year of National Bandanna Day
for CanTeen, the Australian organisation that supports young people
living with cancer. This not only includes cancer patients, but also
their brothers, sisters, parents and carers. CanTeen was created by
young cancer patients and its policies are guided by young people
living with cancer.
Bandannas can be purchased throughout October at any Woolworths,
Industrie or Newslink stores, and look out for them on the streets
next Friday. The designs available reflect a combination of current
fashion trends, cultural icons and classic fashion patterns. Purchasing
and wearing a bandanna on Friday shows support for this cause. For
more information visit the CanTeen website at www.canteen.org.au or
call 1800 226 833
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: (West)
9265 2613, (South) 9265 2802 or (North) 9265 2631
Cut off for submissions is 10:00am Thursday