The VFFA has been pushing for our volunteers to be appropriately compensated with legitimate expenses so that they are not out of pocket. These expenses might include a loss of income for many volunteers.
This type of assistance is designed to assist our volunteers and is not intended to become a payment scheme.
The VFFA President was interviewed by The Project on this matter.
Volunteer Fire Fighters Association President, Mick Holton talks to Sky News, Chris Kenny about the lack of land management.
I am a member of the NSW Rural Fire Service because it is a volunteer service. Volunteering makes me feel good about the work we do and the opportunity to give back to my community. We are proud to be volunteers. But there are limits!
Rural Fire Service members have been warned about crowdfunding for protective masks “without the appropriate authority” amid growing concern about resourcing levels of the state’s firefighting volunteers.
An interview with Vic Jurskis by by 2GB’s Jane Marwick on Thursday evening 12th December 2019.
Volunteer firefighters spending extended periods battling NSW bushfires say they are having to cough up significant sums of money for upgraded respirators, amid fears the disposable masks issued by the Rural Fire Service aren’t providing enough protection for the severity of exposure.
This post compares the performance of the Fair Air fire mask (Fair Air) against the requirements of AS/NZS 1716:2013 (the standard) for masks rated as P2. It also provides some detail regarding ISO 9151:1995(E) and ISO 15025:2000 which are international standards for fire resistance for protective clothing. The Fair Air fire mask is the only respirator to have passed,or could pass, these two standards (according to the experts at the CSIRO).
“You get a lot of volunteers… who say they don’t feel remuneration is appropriate because it would damage the volunteer ethos. But there are many others who say ‘I can only do this for so long’.”
“We need to really start thinking about out-of-pocket expenses at the very least.”
Claims that “green tape’’ worsened an already “difficult and dangerous’’ fire season will be investigated at a special inquiry that will probe the state’s bushfire hazard-reduction strategies, including land clearing and burn-offs.
The federal government has also bowed to pressure to investigate if the ongoing deadly fire season was fuelled by a failure to properly manage vegetation in national parks, forests and on private properties with temperatures expected to soar.
A forestry expert, Vic Jurskis has condemned bushfire prevention strategies in an open letter to the Prime Minister and premiers, saying it is entirely within their power to put an end to the situation by prescribed burning.
VFFA Vice President, Mr Williams says that the hazard-approval process is stuffing the whole process.