Diversity
in emergency services
On
Wednesday and Thursday I was in Melbourne with a contingent of NSWFB
permanent, retained and support staff to attend the joint Metropolitan
Fire Brigade and United Firefighters Union Diversity in Emergency
Services Conference. Presenters
from the USA and England delivered keynote addresses, as did Victorias
Chief Commissioner of Police Christine Nixon a very thought provoking
insight into the difficulties women can face in a largely male
environment (whether or not we men realize or acknowledge it).
Station Officer Terry Kirkpatrick and David Weir, both from
Community Safety, delivered presentations today on engaging culturally
and linguistically diverse and Aboriginal communities. The message of
the conference was clear fire services do not reflect the makeup of
the communities we serve, therefore we will experience increasing
difficulty in understanding, working with and helping these
communities. This is not
a reflection on our current predominantly white, Anglo Saxon, male
work force, and nobody is saying that they are not good firefighters.
However, we do need to look at why we are not attracting and
recruiting more women and people from the diverse communities we
protect. That is the
challenge we must face and overcome.
2007
Federal Election
The
2007 Federal Election is to be conducted on Saturday 24 November 2007
and the NSWFB is one of a number of agencies that is conducting
response planning for the election period.
All operational personnel are reminded of the importance of
being familiar with In Orders 2007/6 Managing Incidents at Federal,
State or Local Election Polling Centres and the associated Standard
Operational Guidelines. It
is most important that all Station, Duty and Zone Commanders ensure
that all operational personnel review the content of In Orders 2007/6
so that there is minimal disruption should an emergency incident occur
at or near a polling booth.
Climate
Change Seminars
A series of
environmental seminars are being held for NSWFB staff to raise
awareness about climate change, talk about what it means for the NSWFB,
let you know what we are doing as an organisation, and hear from you
about your ideas and what we can all do. Deputy Commissioner Ken
Thompson and Environmental Risk Officer Shannon Heathcote are the
presenters and there will be a staff workshop as well as light
refreshments. Sessions will be held at 10 am and 1 pm on the following
dates for: Head
Office staff on 7-8 November (morning session only on the 8th);
for Greenacre staff on 15-16 November and for
Alexandria
staff 20-21
November. Please ensure you have your managers permission to attend
before sending your RSVP, with your preferred day and time, to Maria
James on 9265 2905 or maria.james@fire.nsw.gov.au.
These seminars will be delivered to
areas and zones in 2008. Further information will be provided closer
to the time.
Royal
Humane Society Bravery Award
Today
I, and a number of NSWFB representatives, attended a ceremony at
Government House for the Royal Humane Societys annual Bravery Awards.
During the ceremony, Governor Marie Bashir AC presented Station
Officer John Carlos Henry with a Silver Medal for his actions at a
house fire in
Kingswood
in July 2006 while off-duty. SO Henry received one of only four Silver
Medals presented to individuals for brave deeds in NSW during 2006/07.
It was an honour to see one of our own among an amazing group of 45
members of the community and some of our colleagues from the NSW
Police Force who displayed extraordinary courage during fires and MVAs
as well as undertaking rescues in extreme conditions at sea, in the
surf and fast-flowing rivers.
Class
3/2007 graduate and commendations presented
On
Thursday 25 October it was my pleasure to welcome 20 new firefighters
into our ranks at a graduation ceremony at the
State
Training
College
.
These former recruits had already seen action after forming a
Strike Team on a day of extreme bushfire danger in early October. They
have now taken up their postings at fire stations around
Sydney
. It was also my honour to
present commendations to 28 firefighters for their actions during the
civil disturbance at Redfern in 2004. These firefighters acted in the
finest traditions of the service in difficult circumstances, see the
intranet story.
Reversing
accidents
A
report recently tabled at CEG by Fleet indicated that 29 percent of
major fleet accidents result from reversing and that these
accidents are both expensive and largely avoidable.
We need to take more care and reduce the number of reversing
accidents. All
firefighters should familiarise themselves with In Order 1999/7 which
states that whenever
possible, the driver of a fire appliance must obtain the assistance of
another person when reversing the appliance.
Unfortunately it seems that in most cases this requirement has
been ignored.
Orion
gas detectors
New
gas detectors are being delivered to regional and metropolitan fire
stations as part of
our ongoing strategy to upgrade and provide new equipment and
technology to firefighters across the state.
I encourage stations that have received their new gas detectors
to promote the new piece of equipment and NSWFB capabilities using the
template media release available on the intranet. For further
information about the roll out see the intranet story.
Launch
of new retained recruitment marketing campaign
The
new retained recruitment marketing campaign is now being rolled out
across the state. Bus ads have recently been installed on buses in
Coffs
Harbour
and Lismore, with Port
Macquarie,
Orange
and
Bathurst
soon to follow.
Postcards and posters have also been distributed to zone
offices. An official launch event was held at 257 Coffs Harbour on
Wednesday 31 October. The new campaign is a great opportunity to
attract a new and more diverse group of retained firefighters to the
NSWFB and I hope that retained stations will use the new resources in
their local communities. For anyone wishing to launch the campaign in
their local area, a media release template is available in the
Retained Recruitment Toolkit.
Barbeque
fire safety
Yesterday
marked the start of our November fire safety campaign on barbeque
safety. With the arrival
of warm weather now is a good time to remind residents to check their
barbeques before use. Among
the most common causes of barbeque accidents are leaking gas bottles
and a build up of grease and fat.
That is why it is important for us to encourage residents to
make sure their barbeques are serviced and maintained correctly, that
they check the condition of all hoses and connections before use and
that they thoroughly clean barbeques before use. A media release
template has been prepared and is available on the intranet.
2007
National Firefighter Championship
On
19-21 October, five NSWFB teams travelled to Lakes Entrance in
Victoria
to compete in the 2007
National Firefighter Championship. Even though the team from 105
Kelso, which ultimately finished third, was not able to defend its
title as National Champion, it was a great weekend of competition with
teams travelling from all over
Australia
and
New Zealand
to compete. For the results
of the National Championship, see the intranet story.
Idol
chatter
For
any Australian Idol fans out there, you may be interested to know that
one the remaining five contestants in this years show is related to
one of our members. Matt Corby, the 16-year-old singing sensation from
the Sutherland Shire, is the son of John Corby, a Senior Firefighter
attached to Sydney Communications,
Alexandria
.
John joined the NSWFB when Matt was a few months old and has been
stationed at the Comms section for the past 11 years. Matt, despite
his tender years, has been wowing the Australian public for the past
two months with his wonderful voice and maturity beyond his years. We
wish Matt all the best in the competition and hope he can go on to win
the title of Australian Idol.
RUMOUR
MILL
Rumour:
Is it true regarding the Waterfall incident that no awards have been
presented to members of the NSWFB even though recommendations were
presented to the Commissioner some time ago. Why the delay when other
emergency services, including the RFS, have presented their awards?
Response:
No
this is not true. Awards have been approved and are being forwarded to
the Area for a special presentation ceremony. One factor in the delay
was due to the fact that previously Unit Commendations carried a
certificate only and did not have any uniform adornment for
recipients. That has now changed and Unit Commendations for Courageous
Action and Unit Commendations for Meritorious Service both carry a
Commendation Certificate and have a Commendation Bar which recipients
may wear with Dress and Ceremonial Dress Uniform.
The new insignias have now arrived.
INCIDENTS
Quick-thinking
from neighbour limits fire damage to house
EVENTS
Gong
shows the way on National Ride to Work Day
Firefighters
from 257 Coffs Harbour meet with local coastal patrol volunteers
Regional
South 2 Captains Conference
Backflow
Prevention Program
NSWFB
teams perform well at the 2007 National Firefighter Championship
CALD
presentation for local African community leaders
Firefighters
from 216 Bathurst conduct aquatic centre PIP
Operational
communications
Condobolin
pays tribute to long-serving firefighter
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 to the intranet, please contact Public
Affairs Officers: (West) 9265 2613, (South) 9265 2802 or
(North) 9265 2631