SA Firefighter

*cringe*

http://www.ktvz.com/news/23981325/detail.html

Ha ha ha filtered :) And I thought I chose some fairly tame words to describe the scenery *chuckle*

Just looking out the window makes me do anything but snore - its filtered hot, windy as all hell and everything is looking fairly toasty. A few close calls for us already here, and Kingston fire might be nasty too.

Sleep on at your peril :)

Quote from: crashndash on November 28, 2009, 06:55:05 PM
maybe we should look at how many people we have lost as instructors over the last few years and ask why that is......its not workload....

Personal view -
Workload is one. Travel is long and your weekends are totally eaten up. CABA courses can be very hard yakka (and should be). They do come at signficant personal cost, of which CFS makes an effort to contribute (travel costs reimbursed for example). But for regional trainers the travel time is a killer.
The training is another. The lack of dedication to serious training and a serious commitment to OHS&W. The realisation that too many volunteers pass a course feeling that they are a BA operator, when they have simply learned how to don a set. Every CABA wearer should undertake live fire training at Brukunga and carry out some other brigade minimum in order to be called a BA operator.
Just a few reasons for your interest.

The landholders I talk to in regional areas (south east) don't want to join the CFS as that means their own property and often total financial livelihood could be left to perish duirng a bushfire. We are told repeatedly that the CFS wont save you (we don't have enough appliances to protect every house, etc etc) so people are moving more toward the 'save yourself' line of thinking : prepare your own home, act to save your own home, and survive.

Gone are the post-war days where small groups of farmers shared resources to protect their immediate area. On an appliance we can be called well out of our own neighbourhood to respond to all manner of emergencies, and this leaves our own homes, and potentially our families there, very vulnerable.

Stop and have a think about the logistics of it for just a second. X numbers of fireys with varying needs for their area or brigade, all with varying degrees of commitment/time to undertake training and retraining, all have lives with responsibilities outside of CFS and so can't all be free at the same moment in time, plus getting trainers and resources organised for each course, then the cost of running the training itself or reimbursing travel etc etc.

The mind boggles. I think they need a pat on the back for getting any courses up and happening at all!

Eh *shrugs shoulders* saves em doing the prescribed burning  :lol:

Is someone doing a study on the uncanny ability of Ngarkat to attract lightening? Would be interesting research. Maybe buried beneath the sand is a giant magnet.

I stumbled across an advertisement for "Safe Climate Australia", have a look at the video online. Is anyone participating in the run? I wish Id kept up my training now after last year's City to Bay! Did anyone know it was happening? I searched the forum but didn't find any comment.

http://www.safeclimateaustralia.org/run-for-a-safe-climate/

Good for you! Shame they have died a slow death, I guess like all training materials they need constant updating as you get new equipment etc and it takes someone to put aside a fair amount of time to update it all.

It's a working title....Not everyone learns by watching, and even less of us remember by doing things just once. Has anyone within their brigade created written training materials for new and existing members? I'm thinking about things specific to each brigade that one might want to know. Making things foolproof, or more fool proof than currently is the case.

Maybe another title could be 'Beyond BFF1'....

Some aspects might include
Where things are stowed and what they look like/what they are used for
How to prime/pump
Steps for burnover procedure (specific to the appliance)
BA related checks/procedures
Radio procedures and prowords
Etc etc

Is anyone out there trying to make it as easy as possible for people to do these things by supporting learning with written materials that members can take home, read and stick on the back of their toilet door to memorise?

At present there would be no one who is retained that does it for the money. But from what I've heard the EB may even make it worth your while cash wise, as well as doing it for the love  :wink:

RESPOND RUBBISH FIRE,FARTCH ST,MT GAMBIER MAP 0 0 0 TG195,FOR SALE SIGN ON FIRE CALL FROM NO.5,SAIR55 MTG701

Oooh, hot property!  :lol:

Quote from: Cameron Yelland on June 05, 2008, 05:26:40 PM

Quote from: Blue on June 04, 2008, 07:23:58 PM

Quote from: Cameron Yelland on May 29, 2008, 04:41:00 AM

Quote from: Blue on May 28, 2008, 07:19:18 PM
I went to a call where half our crew had thongs and just a turn out coat  :oops:

Was that while living on the river?

Negative, that was responding to TAFE

The dilemma continues!  Dare i ask who the crew was?

You may dare, but I'll not be part of the public name and shame scandal  :-)

PS. This is very off topic. Getting back on topic, I want to hear more about the loss of dignity and innocence at a call.

Belair brigade would be on the same mark, yeah?
Since 1943...ok some one will correct me I'm sure... :roll: LOL

Quote from: Cameron Yelland on May 29, 2008, 04:41:00 AM

Quote from: Blue on May 28, 2008, 07:19:18 PM
I went to a call where half our crew had thongs and just a turn out coat  :oops:

Was that while living on the river?

Negative, that was responding to TAFE

I went to a call where half our crew had thongs and just a turn out coat  :oops:

Have lost a 'Waterwatch' water bottle somewhere out in a paddock near the border. Left it on the back of the fire king. D'oh.

It's a lovely green colour too  :lol:

HECK no. This is Mount Gambier. My purple parachute tracksuit pants and furry boots have been setting the trend in radio room apparel for years.

I think its funny that you can tell by the tone, speed and dialect of the voices on the radio in the game that its been around for years. You can almost picture a skinny dude with longish hair and side burns, sitting at a radio in little light blue shorts and a tight fitting striped brown t-shirt. Strange how english changes slowly over time....

I met my partner when he and I were both in yellow turnout gear, and now he is my fiancee. So can't have looked that bad!  :lol:

I think its in the state strategic plan to support swim training (and reduce deaths by drowning) so maybe this is why they throw money at it too? On the one hand it supports a volunteer service that is iconic for Australia, and also supports people learning to swim (and having people there to save you if you can't swim or get in trouble).

Thoughts anyway.

Quote from: SA Firey on January 23, 2008, 06:41:09 PM
Yeah I already know that, I think you misinterpreted what I meant in response to a post :roll:

Um, yes. Thats why I asked 'please explain'  :-)

Quote from: fireblade on January 24, 2008, 08:02:32 AM
Totally disagree with your statement COMP00.

Don't know what game you guys play at your station but once our guys complete their BFF1 they are not fed to the lions! They are always mentored by Senior Fire Fighters or senior members at training and incidents so they are learning the right stuff and safely and only one probie is allowed on each appliance to an incident.

Once the Captain is content with their development then they loose the probationary statue and become Fire Fighters.

See COMP00 if you did join one of those urban fringe brigades you would learn phrases like skills development & skills maintenance.

By the way under the FGP's it's "Turn on" and "Knock off"

You've gotta agree tho that no level of training really truly prepares you for a big fire....

Quote from: sesroadcrashrescue on January 23, 2008, 12:19:59 PM
with the comment about t shirt and shorts i was looking at the pics on the compton website and there is a pic of a firey doing fire cover at a va with sneakers and turn out gear gpes to show nobody is perfect 

Special issue sneakers, gas tight, splash proof, rated to 1000degC  :-)

Quote from: SA Firey on January 22, 2008, 07:37:43 PM
To quote an MFS Station Officer "We only have two seasons,House Fire Season and Grass Fire Season"  :-D

You forgot 'false alarm' season - oh hang on, that's all year round  :-D