Our Media Officer, Jon Russell spends some time “On Air” with Mel Millgate from Radio 2WEB – www.outbackradio.com.au
Mel asked Jon about the beginnings of the Volunteer Fire Fighters Association. They discussed the selection of magazine content, requests from VFFA members and the fact that many of our readers prefer a printed hard copy magazine.
Bushfire greenhouse gas emissions – from mild to wild
Researchers have conducted the first-ever experiments to prove that fuel reduction burning prior to wildfire decreases both the intensity of wildfire and reduces the amount of carbon and greenhouse gas emitted to the atmosphere. Nerissa Hannink reports.
Wow – Christmas Already
It’s that wonderful time of the year where we generally catch up with family and friends.
It has been a big year for the VFFA with many great projects, campaigns and opportunities for our ever growing membership base.
We would like to take this opportunity to wish all RFS Volunteers (not just VFFA members) a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
The NSW Rural Fire Service could not exists without it’s volunteer workforce and I’m sure that I can speak for the majority of NSW residents when I say thank you to all fire fighters (volunteers, part time and full time) for their efforts throughout 2015.
Bushfires and Global Warming
A cheap system of bushfire management that worked has been replaced by an obscenely expensive one which doesn’t. Premiers, ministers, shire councils and bureaucrats are in thrall to environmental activists who have never fought a bushfire and are running a political, not a social agenda.
Fire Lookout Trees – Early Detection from the Early 1900s
We should be proud of our Aussie bush heritage and as a firefighter, I’m impressed at the way we have dealt with bush fires in the past.
The questions that I pose now are:
1. Are we getting it right in todays modern world?
2. With all of the technology that we now have, why can’t we locate fires and hit them hard before they take hold?
It is a “no brainer” that a fire is best dealt with if we catch it in its early stages. The idea of early detection and early suppression has vastly reduced the frequency and severity of structural fires in Australia but can this principle be applied to the bush?
The idea of using fire towers to provide early detection and to help locate fires in Australia dates back to the early 1900s.
Bureaucratic nonsense – Local farmer
Cootamundra pilot Scott Adams, of Adams Aerial Services, was furious when he was called out of the airspace above the fire at Stockinbingal by the Rural Fire Service (RFS), who say he was never requested to attend the fire which broke out on Yeo Yeo Hampstead Road.
He had the fire as good as out before anyone got to it and he called for a commonsense approach from the RFS when it comes to available resources, calling the move to stop Mr Adams waterbombing “bureaucratic nonsense”.
Why do these Government inquiries take so long?
Question – The Hon. Robert Brown:
My question is directed to the Hon. Duncan Gay, representing the Premier. Will the Premier guarantee that a Government response will be forthcoming to the General Purpose Standing Committee No. 5 inquiry into the Wambelong fire before Christmas given that the fire occurred in January 2013?
Emergency Services Ready to Respond with 74,516 Volunteers
Mr Elliott claims that we now have 74,516 volunteers in the RFS.
We disagree with that claim, but don’t take our word for it, ask around for yourself. Go to a few country towns and ask the local Brigade how many people they have on the books, then ask how many are actively engaged in the day to day activities of that Brigade.
Bruie Plains – Cold Drinks, ABBA and Plenty to Sing About
Bruie Plains Brigade, located 26 Kilometres from Trundle (in the Central West) has plenty to sing about…
The Brigade are now the proud owners of two Engel Fridges thanks to Deputy Captain Andrew Rawesthorne and the VFFA.
In an earlier edition of the volunteer fire fighter magazine, we ran a Photo Competition with a prize of $1000 for whatever equipment a brigade needed. The winning photo was submitted by Deputy Captain Andrew Rawesthorne of Bruie Plains Brigade. After consideration, the brigade decided two fridges would be great for their tankers so they no longer had to drink hot water in the field.
What about ABBA?
Fire from the Sky by Roger Underwood
In Western Australia in the early 1960s, a revolutionary technology was developed: lighting fuel reduction burns using aircraft. Its adoption by forest managers ensured there was an entire generation of Western Australians protected from the ravages of severe wildfires.
In this book, Roger explains (in simple terms) the rationale for prescribed burning, and the history of its adoption in Western Australia.