Some other consideration for Mutual Aid are the response of 'cells' or a task force equivalent, where if a large incident is underway instead of individual appliance responding to different locations. A cell of multiple capacity appliances responds into one area.
I guess this could be in a situation where the likes of a CFS Hazmat Pumper (Murray Bridge or Eden Hills), Rescue Pumper (Seaford - this is an example I know they are not a full rescue brigade), couple of 34Ps and a GO or DGO responding into one specific area or region. This would have the advantage of reasonable pumping capabilities, broader role capacity (RCR Hazmat etc) and the ability to not grab the most immediate brigades for Mutual Aid support.
My concerns about mutual aid for larger metropolitan incident comes from the commitment of resources from the immediate surrounding area deep into the metro area. If MFS where heavily committed to a northern incident and you had multiple COQ's heading north (TTG to 37, NSA to 22, Belair, Eden to 20, Burnside to 24, Happy Valley to 40, Stirling to 44...) and the likes of a 2nd or 3rd alarm incident to occur in the hills interface area (say the Waite Institute or Heysen Tunnels) the normal response into that area would be decreased. It really is a balancing act, and I think this is some of the thought that went into the COQ's on Monday.
Great ideas, yet the CFS needs to change to adopt some modern concepts. The provision to send RCR and Hazmat Strike teams does exist, yet it rarely seen. You almost need to create a CoQ Strike team setup, as suggested that comprises of Hazmat and Rescue resources and could go and sit at 20 stn when the need arises.
The other issue that needs to be address is the "Hazmat Pump" and "Rescue Pump". Both of these physically exist in the CFS yet there is no provision for naming or special calling them. There is also no provision for them in the green book, which causes issues as they are no recognised as a rescue resource even though a Rescue Pump can handle 99% of RCR jobs. Bring back the old Rescue system, or at the very least break it into Rapid Intervention/Rescue/Heavy Rescue.
This then brings in the $$$ cost of up grading current Rescue stations to a level of equipment/vehicles required to fill the classifications, or the cost of training other brigades and operators. I see no reason, apart from the cost, why every rescue brigade cannot have two appliances with rescue gear funded and recognised as rescue resources. Stand alone or Rescue pumpers, this allows versatility and the ability to CoQ and respond out of areas without diminishing the response to the Brigades own Rescue area.
With both the large scale USAR type incident and the task force cell idea, in theory it should include non-fire rescue, investigation and planning resources.
Why deploy multiple combined fire/rescue appliances when you can put a dedicated rescue, dedicated urban fire & dedicated rural fire vehicles/crew in the mix ? It would seem to me that more equipment & skills would be available to the strike force cell.
Then the combined fire/rescue appliance can cover the original patch.
Didn't take long for the "What about us in Orange!".
Of course the SES are getting a run in a USAR job, the CFS doesn't even know what USAR stands for. In terms of CoQ Rescue response into the city, the Metropolitan SES Units couldn't Rescue their way out of a wet paperbag with a steak knife set - do you really want to wait for crews from Laura and other places out in the sticks? I understand what you are saying, but if the CFS got smart, they could easily have some very versatile setups.
Someone has to draw a line in the sand though...
I can't wait to see CoQ used as the basis of an argument to get a new truck. Hell that three storey building might catch fire in our area, we need a Skyjet at the MINIMUM!
