SA Firefighter

And a heartfelt thank you for coming, I was proud to see trucks from my former service working alongside of those of my current one. Thanks also to those who remained behind to provide cover in SA, often overlooked it is a vital part of the overall effort.

I wish you all a Safe and Happy New Year and hope that we won't have to call on you again and you won't have to call on us!!!!

Had a "discussion" with our HQ engineering bods at Homebush today. Once again complained about the accessibility into our Category 1 (equivalent to 34) appliances and asked if a better step could be provided for rear seat passengers remembering that all the early Isuzu FTS800s in our fleet have already upgraded the steps once, still inadequate.
Mentioned that I liked the look of the steps fitted to SACFS units. Well got abused again for being ex-SA and informed that SACFS having "huge" issues with cabs cracking due to the weight of these steps. First I have heard of this, is there any truth to this? or is it yet another case of HQ Engineering B/S?

Please excuse my ignorance but was this Opposition Emergency Services spokesperson Duncan McFetridge previously a veterinary surgeon at Happy Valley and a Captain at Happy Valley brigade? Probably some 15 years ago

Somewhere in the depths of my mind I remember said vet instructing in structural firefighting and recommending a 38mm line as an effective deterrent to aggressive dogs. Info that came in very handy recently!!

In NSW we technically teach the same thing re removing all the gear from the appliance, but practically, if you have time to do all that then you have time to get the hell out! As for appliance positioning, back to the approaching fire, hopefully you would already have the appliance facing this way if you are considering your escape routes.

OK, speaking as an ex SA firefighter now living and working in Central West NSW I offer the following which may or may not be applicable to SA.

Firstly, most grain storage facilities over here are surrounded by a reasonable amount of mineral earth plus it takes a fair amount of radiant heat to severely damage grain. So not a huge amount of effort needs to be applied to the grain.

Next take a look at the house occupants, are there any that are old or infirm (consider evacuation) where are the young fit people( they should be on your trucks!!!), they should be able to help protect their homes so you can concentrate on the others.

 Finally, as Alex said, protect the pub!!! I know it was meant as a joke but take some time to think about this. Just imagine the affect on a small community if they lose their pub whether it be through fire, bad management or whatever, the community loses much more than a watering hole. There goes their social networking place, meeting place for local groups, sometimes local shop as well as employment for some. There are two small villages in my group where the pub is the only retail business, in one of them the publican is the brigade Captain, the other the publican is a Senior Deputy (equivalent Lt.1) so the best way to turn out the brigade is to ring the pub!!!

Once again, no real right or wrong with this scenario, just the way I think and thanks bajdas for the opportunity to express it.

Bill, believe me you blokes are way in front of us on this one. In my opinion burn over drill is one of the things that SA do better than NSW. Fire overrun as it is called here ( we're the RFS, why use someone else's terminology when you can invent your own) is taught at BF level (initial course) then basically forgotten about until it's needed! There is no regular structured competency to maintain.
The smarter and more switched-on captains and T/Os ensure it's practiced regularly often without warning during a normal practical session. I downloaded the drill from the SACFS site (with permission) and distributed it to my brigades. It is also a regular feature at Regional and State exercises.

The NSW Rural Fire Service covers siren use in its Rural Fire Driving (RFD) course. The new Category 1 (equiv. 34/34P) and 7 (between 14 and 24) share a common centre console. Siren controls are on the drivers side near front with a wail/yelp change also on the horn button, radios, GPS phone etc. are all on officers side. I find it a good setup from either job perspective. Over here the driver has the responsibilty for the vehicle operation and safety but the OIC determines the level of response and what warning devices are activated. An example would be the OIC directing lights only response to an MVA out of our small town at 2.00 in the morning (no sense having everyone awake is there!)

NSWRFS use a colour code for message priority
Red-Urgent incident-related message
Blue-General incident-related message, e.g. SitReps
Yellow-General message