Out of touch! ( Letter In Mt Barker Courier)

[jason]

Letter In Mt Barker Courier this week....

Out Of touch

Sir:- Summer has arrived, record temperatures are forecast and abundant vegetation is present.
Yet i have just attended a meeting where it was stated the CFS hierarchy propose to remove yet another rural firefighting unit from the Mt Barker brigade, having already taken one only a year ago and assuring the brigade no further vehicles would be removed.
This in effect will reduce its rural firefighting capabilities by two thirds. In light of the damning criticism of some of the paid CFS personnel in the handling of the Port Lincoln fires earlier this year, I find it amazing that paid professionals can now justify such a move in this high bushfire prone area of the Mt Lofty Ranges.
Rural residents adjacent to Mt Barker need to be concerned as help will be considerably longer in coming.
The unpaid volunteers who are prepared to risk their lives at the fire front are the salt of the earth while the paid staff who stand back and make critical decisions regarding their safety are, in this case, out of touch with reality.
I write this letter as a passionate volunteer CFS member of 50 years who cannot stand back and accept these terrible mistakes.
The only way now to overthrow this awful decision is for you, the rural landholder, to contact the CFS Region 1 office and your local MP to express your concerns.

D. Chapman
Mt Barker

[pumprescue]

That is an well written letter, I saw it the other day in the courier. Well done about time someone stood up to the cfs.

[firefighter_sa]

Hi there

A well written article - lets hope the community gets behind it.

All the best

Wayne

[jason]

Just a few more letters in this weeks Courier

CFS Must listen
sir:- In regards to David Chapmans letter in The Courier, i feel that for him to have to write a letter showing so much fortitude and compassion is testimony to his years of dedication to this towns CFS.
It Seems as if the stated CFS hierarchy has lost the ability to communicate with the people  who know, the ones on the ground - as on the Eyre peninsula.
with the way Mt Barker is developing, our resources should not be reduced.
we should not have lost a unit last year , let alone another one.
so, lets have last years unit back and do away with some of the vehicles parked behind the CFS R1 headquarters as they don't put out fires!
I feel that our Emergency Service levy money is being wasted at the top and lives put at risk on the ground.
K Williams
Mt Barker

I Agree
Sir:- I would like to congratulate David Chapman on his letter in regards to the pending removal of yet another fire appliance from a Hills fire station.
As an active CFS member of a local brigade I feel this is just the tip of the iceberg.
There are many other areas where the CFS hierarchy is dismally failing to the point of possibly jeopardizing the safety of the firefighter on the ground.
An example of this is the refusal or slow issue of replacement protective clothing to replace badly worn out and unsafegear. We are told if we want this new gear we must pay for some of it out of brigade funds (if there is any) or just wait until enough funding is available from CFS to replace it.
There are certainly a large number of volunteers who have very little faith or trust in the CFS hierarchy.
I would like to see all volunteer CFS personnel band togeather to fight the hierarchy on theses issues.
Where the hell is all the emergency service  funding going?
Greg Heyer
Nairne

[medevac]

gutsy move putting his name and brigade on...

[pumprescue]

It is about time vols stood up for themself.

[strikeathird]

Was it only CFS that wrote replies in ?

[Mike]

i forgot to bring the article down to post.

Its interesting to note that only replies agreeing to the original letter have been posted here.

There was another letter from Heysen GO explaining the situation, with Mt Barker getting a new Type 2, Littlehampton getting Barkers 24P, and response plans for all other brigades in the group. And all of this was discussed at a meeting represented by all brigades and group officers in the group.

Try not to omit too many facts to direct the thread in a specific direction.

there were only 3 replies that i saw.

[medevac]

haha i think the issue is the number of rural appliances... not just appliances in general.. and where the appliances are getting put and various other factors like SFECs etc.. its not simple.

[jason]

i forgot to bring the article down to post.

Its interesting to note that only replies agreeing to the original letter have been posted here.

There was another letter from Heysen GO explaining the situation, with Mt Barker getting a new Type 2, Littlehampton getting Barkers 24P, and response plans for all other brigades in the group. And all of this was discussed at a meeting represented by all brigades and group officers in the group.

Try not to omit too many facts to direct the thread in a specific direction.

there were only 3 replies that i saw.

Mike

The letter was not posted as it did not answer the question "Why is Mt Barker losing A RURAL UNIT".

The issue is not with the Rescue truck being replaced with a type 2.

[rescue5271]

So does that mean barker will have two pumpers??? and no rural appliances at all?

[medevac]

two urban pumopers...

the dennis
and a type two (rescue/hazmat gear stowed)
and a 24


for a frickin huge rural response area....

[strikeathird]

I believe they 'still' have their 24P  .. (For how long, I don't know)

[24P]

Last i saw the type 2 was still At NE Isuzu along with Hahndorf

[strikeathird]

Is there any one from Mt Barker that can clarify.. (Or any one from an ajoining brigade that may have seen it ?? )

I was under the impression they had received the Type 2, and are meant to be losing the 24P very shortly.. ??

[medevac]

not sure what they have in there station atm;
but i do know that they will be losing there stand-a-lone rescue to aldinga (i think aldinga neway), there 24p is going (to littlehampton???), and they will have just the three trucks i mentioned earlier in station.

2 pumps, and a 24.

[pumprescue]

I have heard both pumpers have beenmoved from NE Isuzu and are in their respective stations but not on the run yet. HQ want crews to run through a training sessions first. I presume Mt Barker would need a bit of work to fit out the rescue gear.

[Mike]

I could get myself into so much trouble..... but Ill bit my tongue.

I though i read in a thread somewhere, that Barker had a choice when they decided to go for the Type 2??

Can anyone enlighten me?