Budget 2008/09

[Bagyassfirey]

id think the way money is spent or allocated would differ hugely from region to region and even further group to group..

[bittenyakka]

No i meant the risk assessment process for making adjustments to trucks and new equipment which currently means many good ideas get put in th to hard basket. Not response planning that seems to work so don;t touch it

[rescue5271]

Spend the money on basic needs,there are stations out there without power,toilets,running water and then you have appliances that are in a poor state that need to be fixed and some of these appliances are less than 3 years old.......It should be up to groups as to how they spend the money but it does need to be controled by the group's and not put into some regional pot of GOLD.... Group's should be allowed to buy gear (PPE/hoses/foam/ETC) where they can get a better deal rather than one supplier .. may be its time CFS but a list of approved suppliers and that it was past onto each group and they did the phone call to see who gives the better deal.....

[6739264]

No i meant the risk assessment process for making adjustments to trucks and new equipment which currently means many good ideas get put in th to hard basket. Not response planning that seems to work so don;t touch it

Do the paperwork, dot the I's cross the T's and you'd be surprised what can be approved. Failing that grab the angle grinder and the welding gear and start adjusting that truck!

[bittenyakka]

ok But evey time i have suggested ideas, before thought is even applied the answer  from my superiors is "Nah to hard". Personally i think it should be "Here are the foms"

[Bagyassfirey]

personally im pretty happy with what gear we have and the appliances..im sure there is the odd few out there that need work or replacing but same old story if u don do the callouts u get put to bottom of list. makes a very intersting point of discussion though

[mattb]

personally im pretty happy with what gear we have and the appliances..im sure there is the odd few out there that need work or replacing but same old story if u don do the callouts u get put to bottom of list. makes a very intersting point of discussion though

It's not just those doing very few jobs that get forgotten, we were on the top of the list for calls last year and are still working with trucks that are far from new.

It's tough when you see brigades doing 7 calls a year getting a brand new rig and yet we do over 460 jobs and can't replace our fifteen year old 24.

[pumprescue]

I hear ya, seems like your area isn't politically important enough.

[rescue5271]

May be its time for change with how the system work's when it comes to allocating who gets  a new station or new appliance,is it far that one hills brigade has had two new appliances in 18Months???.. When brigade's that do over 300 jobs a year are still running around in old appliances and should have a pumper rather than a 24p or a 34p... It has nothing to do with politics it has to do with those who sit at region and say YES or NO....

[Fox Mulder]

I do believe that it is up to the brigade in question to put forward a business plan if they want different trucks. Engage the groups help, engage the regions help there are plenty of good people paid and vols that are willing to help your brigade get a different truck if you can justify it. Specific Risks etc. Instead of always bashing the system how about making it work for you, you might just be pleasantly supprised how it can work in your favour.

I believe that your old brigade NCTE have put forward plans and have received plenty of assistance from the region to get what they want.

perhaps some one from up that way can shed some light on it???

[Bagyassfirey]

mattb is that M Vale 24 that was on the island in december???

[rescue5271]

Yes My old brigade did put in a plan and had support from the group and the regional staff at the time,but they have been knocked back over the last few years for a number of items...  We all have needs and we still need to get it right across the state when it comes to station's and appliances..

[Fox Mulder]

what sort of stuff did they get nocked back on? was it trucks or equipment

[mattb]

mattb is that M Vale 24 that was on the island in december???

Yes Morphett Vale 24 spent a few weeks on the Island, it came back with a few melted bits n pieces and a couple more battle scars, yet still we clean it up repair it all and have our guys spend hours making it look better than some of these brand new trucks sitting in stations out in the bush.

[rescue5271]

RCR gear for the pumper when the rescue was well out of town and other small gear.

[chook]

Well Bill I'm not surprised - very few brigades/ units can have more than one set of RCR gear to cover that contingency! Those units who have more than one payed for it themselves & they will not be replaced or maintained by the system.
If your rescue isn't around, wouldn't someone else be defaulted?
After all you did say a long way out of town, so therefore there should be a backup plan before the rescue is placed out of area. Just my thoughts of course!
cheers

[Cameron Yelland]

Well Bill I'm not surprised - very few brigades/ units can have more than one set of RCR gear to cover that contingency! Those units who have more than one payed for it themselves & they will not be replaced or maintained by the system.
If your rescue isn't around, wouldn't someone else be defaulted?
After all you did say a long way out of town, so therefore there should be a backup plan before the rescue is placed out of area. Just my thoughts of course!
cheers

Nearest rescue backup is about 45mins away.  Dont know that you can really have a backup plan apart from giving the naracoorte brigade a second set of rescue gear.

[Bagyassfirey]

yea i can prob put my hand up for a couple of those scars....lol was best truck we saw over there tho she still goes alright

[Fox Mulder]

RCR gear for the pumper when the rescue was well out of town and other small gear.

The region actually have written a number of plans to eleviate that inc removing hazmat gear from the rescue truck. But the brigade is not keen on that. (not the regions fault) You cant be every where all of the time and you cant have $5-$7K of gear just sitting around just in case your main rescue truck is out of town(would be nice if money grew on trees)
The fact that since the brigade has had a stand alone rescue vehicle, quite some years, they have never been caught out on an rcr job. Some im told.
The fact of the matter is that if you use the system, and can justify the equipment, then often you will get what you want!!

[CFS_Firey]

Nearest rescue backup is about 45mins away.  Dont know that you can really have a backup plan apart from giving the naracoorte brigade a second set of rescue gear.

And if there is a 3rd rescue job?  Give them a third truck too?

[Cameron Yelland]

RCR gear for the pumper when the rescue was well out of town and other small gear.
You cant be every where all of the time and you cant have $5-$7K of gear just sitting around just in case your main rescue truck is out of town(would be nice if money grew on trees)

If thats the attitude you wish to take, then how about we sell all the usar equipment the SES has, as how often does that get used?  What about all the CBR equipment? how often do we have a terroist attack?  When was the last time some of the smaller, lesser known brigades had an entrapment? yet they still have a set of rescue gear.

Works both ways!

Just for the record, i know of a couple of times they have been caught out of town and had a second rescue.  and considering the nearest rescue appliances struggle for trained operators then i dont see how there can be such an arguement for not allowing a second set of gear.  Also i dont think they are asking for a full set, simply a combi tool and what ever that comes with (im not in a rescue brigade, so im not sure what is involved.)

[edit: fixed quoting]

[rescue5271]

We all have needs and the fact of the matter is that 45mins back up for a RCR is a long way and the brigade was only asking for a combi tool which CFS did have a couple of spare's sitting around in a shed.......

[6739264]

If the CFS got smart and took a good look at most road crash rescues performed, then they might see that there is nothing wrong with giving certain brigades Rapid Intervention gear, or doubling up at a rescue brigade. This helps with both the "Just in case" times with multiple calls, as well as when you need that one extra ram at a rescue.

Now if only the designation between Heavy and Light Rescue had been kept...

[chook]

All fair points - by the way USAR is mostly funded by the Feds as I said. And its not $5 - $7k for the tools, you need to factor in cost of hoses and a pump as well. Plus all of the other gear as well approx all up $20k - $30k! thats new of course.
And in some areas of the state 45 minutes is a short time, I know thats not right but we live in a real world.
Your backup would be from Penola (54kms),Bordertown (81 kms), thats not too bad considering one is to the North & one to the south would lessen travel time & you are covered to the west as well!
So sorry Bill & Cameron it's still "nice to have" not essential or if you think you really have a need, raise the money yourselves & buy your own set (we did that for a second set of cutters ).
As for the brigades or units that have the gear but don't do many jobs, you could take it off them for your just in case scenario - but what happens when they get their 1 in 10 year job?
Anyway I guess it's your problem & it will all sought itself out one day
cheers

[pumprescue]

Fox Mulder must be a CFS staff member, sounds like the usual thing they would say. I suppose, if you pay peanuts you get monkeys, doesn't surprise me that most staff seem to be pulling the pin.