SA Firefighter

R2 Commander has set up a FB Group. 119 members so far.

So if you are into FB and want to join the R2 Group... http://www.facebook.com/#!/group.php?gid=264863220767

Good way to keep in touch with regional stuff!

A warning - you are responsible for what you say. If you slander or defame and are sued the site owners will release whatever information they have to identify you. It is very shaky ground to make accusations.

Good to see the tap just dripped in the CFS's direction. But don't get giddy with excitement. The training department is still under funded and under staffed, not to mention regional staffing.

The above is a copy and paste from here - http://www.cfsva.org.au/

Good to see!!!!!!!!

surely this issue is not about stowage.....If brigade budgets can't replace stowage then we are in big trouble!!!!!!!

I see the issue as capital budget for station builds, station repair and maintenance, better trucks, many many more operational staff that have operational Incident management responsibility and a huge HUGE increase to funding for training.

I find it a crazy situation where minimum standards of fire cover have become the maximums and therefore the limit for training. CRAZY. The community would be scared if they really knew how limited some brigades are especially during the day. Appropriate funding for training would help brigades recruit day crews and ensure more are trained in BA, RCR, HAZMAT, CFBT etc. We might even see a proper advanced suppress urban fire course.

Health issues aside, Does it seems crazy to anyone that all recruits to CFS are not BA trained? We are a fire service aren't we?? Recruits should do BFF1 and BA as a minimum.

State government treats CFS like a joke. They are happy to put adds on TV to warn the public to clean their yard but how about providing appropriate funding to the service that has to deal with the emergencies.

I'm also fed up watching skilled people trying to do courses such as AIIMS and have been waiting years! This is a ridiculous situation. How long do committed long term volunteers need to wait. If CFS don't provide training, govt please don't complain when indidents aren't managed as well as you would have liked.

Ok that's better spleen all vented......

Keep it on topic - just in case anyone had thoughts about taking this in another direction.

If this is a serious thing that is about state funding we need it to be bigger than one group in one region. Not knowing what the plans are it would be great to have the word spread effectively via the CFSVA or other means official or not.

Crazy thing - it will be no suprise to state or pollies as they are reading this.....

The other problem is getting brigades involved who are the roll over and have their belly scratched types. I see brigades not willing to fight for fear of annoying the chain of command......Blah. If this is sanctioned action via the CFSVA then perhaps some of those brigades that normally say nothing might stand up!

Just my 2 cents....

lets play nice now......Simple question answered by Pip. Thanks! no need to take this into crazy land. Thread will be locked if needed.

Thanks all! Appreciated and clears it up for me..... :-D

Had a discussion the other night about driving and a few things got raised.

Is Priority 1 - Lights and Sirens ONLY or can you elect to go lights only on a quite road in the middle of the night for example? I know this is a common practice for some and wasn't sure if the Act allows for it or if COSO or SOP allowed for it???

Or is this a grey area?

Here's an example....

PCCY STRL RESPOND FIRE ALARM Mt LOFTY HOUSE, 74 SUMMIT RD, CRAFERS *CFSRES:, 02/01/2010 20:36:57, TIMER EXPIRED ALARM CFS/Romteck WFAM/Firemon

Just curious if people know what "timer expired" means????

Does anyone know what a timer expired alarm is? I have seen them sent to a Romteck WFAM/Firemon pager but even though it seems to generate a repsonse message no response pages are sent? Anyone know what these are?

why not have a wearers course single day......With an introduction to suppression in CFBT containers on the second. Will get more benefit wearing a BA in CFBT than the BATA doing guidelines.....when will we learn.

For all those white aerial appliances to fit into...LOL.

I have a heap of Matchbox collectible vintage style fire models. I will be photographing them all soon to sell. If anyone has genuine interest in the collection drop me a message..

RIV is meant to be a backup not a rescue resource. I my experience first and second rescue are responded as they should be as per the directory. RIV is great when the first arriving resource has RIV and can provide fire cover and pop a door for ambos etc...It's also proved it's worth when second rescue is 20+ minutes away. For those who doubt the capabilities of RIV you need to get on a good combi tool and see what it can do. A combi tool with a telescopic ram and there's not too much you can't do. Sure there are limitiations but RIV brigades train hard and are fully RCR trained to the same level rescue brigades are. They know the limitations and have the outcome for the trapped occupants at heart.


RIV has far more benefits than negatives, most of the arguments against RIV come from rescue brigades who think they are the only ones gifted enough to use the gear. A better outcome for the community and brigades is to embrace advances in resource and skills. A rescue brigade does itself proud when it can train and assist an RIV brigade without the tribalism I too often see.

Im my expereince RIV is vital where second rescue is some distance or time away. I know of a group where RIV has saved the day on many occasions. In one situation the Heavy Rescue pump failed and the brigade with RIV gear did the rescue. Although RIV is not in the resource directory it can be utilised under group and local response plans. The other major benefit is when the rescue brigade is low on rescue trained people the RIV brigade can respond to assist.

Works well in the situation I am aware of. As far as I know it was the first or second RIV brigade approved in the state.

Agree!!!! Great way to put the right sized pump into stations that need them without the extra expense of a full sized truck! Could be a good move!

The two options should "Prepare your home, Stay and be prepared to Defend" or "Leave Early in the day"

Based on the experiences I have had I believe a well prepared property is defendable from most bush fire events. There is always an exception and I guess it's the exception that has everyone in a flurry right now.

No easy answers - but I think it should be considered a right to choose if you stay and defend. Forced Evacs are dangerous unless done super early and coordinated very well. Not something that tends to happen in the chaos of a big job.

At those who may think about being picky.......let's refrain from picking things to pieces!
Talk through things but don't assume you know how things did or did not get done. Or that you know better than those making decisions last night. Decisions are made in the pressure cooker of a large job. Please don't be an arm chair AIIMS consultant who thinks they know more than those who actually ran the job.

There was certainly a lot of resource required and many CFS brigades had their first run at CoQ. No problem with that.

Certainly tested the states ability to handle a normal workload and provide resource for a large job.

Be good to hear from anyone at the job or those that did a CoQ and ran to SAMFS jobs.....

largest round of CoQ I can remember. Big night!

Amazing that CFS are CoQ in a very large number of SAMFS stations. Plus several CFS crews at the job!

Difficult night for comms to manage, doing a good job!

Do some research on "Human Factors" People are not infallible creatures. It is far too simplistic to say that accidents are caused by inattention for example.
Imagine the example where a pilot is giving their full attention to flying the plane but it still crashes. This cannot be attributed to inattention, quite the opposite. The root cause could be a range of things such as Task saturation, stress, fatigue, a cognitive error. There has been no mechanical failure but a failure in the human to complete a complex task without incident.

People fail - The root causes are rarely as simple as we may imagine.

Taken from http://www.atsb.gov.au/about_atsb/training/hf_course.aspx Human factors considers the effects of physical, psychological, and environmental factors on human performance in different task environments, including the role of human operators in complex systems.

This topic has been moved to Members Only.

http://www.safirefighter.com/boards/index.php?topic=2127.0

Quote from: Bill Corcoran on February 17, 2009, 06:03:47 PM
I dont think its fair to comment on what the attiude of those in victoria did or did not do.....At the end of the day if your going to go do it early and if your going to stay make sure you have a safe place to fall back too just in case your bushfire plan does not work.....

I think this is dangerous advice. Fire agencies warn specifically against last minute travel. By planning a fall back point are you not saying if all else fails get in your car. If that is what you mean it is bad advice.

Simply put if people plan to stay and defend then they need to be committed to the defence. That means a well prepared property that can in fact be defended. The people need to be mentally prepared and capable of coping with the fire fronts impact and any ember attack.

Under no circumstance would I ever recommend late or last minute evacuation. Inside a well prepared home is a safer refuge than a last minute frantic dash in a car.

If you read this thread and are seeking expert advice on your bush fire plan - You must seek advice from the relevant fire authorities. Do Not take this thread as expert advice or policy. It is internet discussion on a forum and can not be relied upon. It may be innacurate and will only represent an opinion as posted by individuals.

It is concerning that there are individuals champing at the bit to go. If you are wanted you will be invited. Captains and group officers tend to overlook those who are just a bit too keen.

I applaud genuine desire to help, just keep it at that and don't over do it.