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.
Inquiry into the fire at the Wambelong Camp Ground – Coroners Findings
On the 28th September 2015, the NSW Deputy State Coroner made the following recommendations to the Minister for Emergency Services. The findings and recommendations have not been well received by all persons. Feel free to add your comments to this article. We will publish any sensible feedback.
Blazeaid – A week with the volunteers at Maffra, Victoria
BlazeAid is a volunteer-based organisation that works with families and individuals in rural Australia after natural disasters such as fires and floods. Working alongside the rural families, our volunteers help to rebuild fences and other structures that have been damaged or destroyed.
Rank v Responsibility – Law v Policy
By Michael Eburn
One of our members who was previously not an officer of the brigade gained employment with the RFS and as part of his employment was given a staff rank that outranks any of the officers in the brigade.
This member has since informed us that he also carries that rank into his volunteer time with the brigade and that as a consequence he has to wear his staff rank to jobs with the brigade and if he is unhappy with the way an incident is being run by the brigade he has a legal obligation to take over control of the incident, and that he is the one that will be responsible if something goes wrong as he would be the senior officer on scene.
NSW RFS brings in jumbo sized water bomber ahead of expected horror fire season
The Daily Telegraph loves a good story, big fires, a horror fire season ahead and now we have jumbo sized water bombers. They also allow public comment and so do we…
Deputy NSW Coroner unable to determine cause of Coonabarabran bushfire
The New South Wales deputy coroner has been unable to determine the cause of the massive bushfire that burned in the Warrumbungle National Park in 2013. The fire started at Wambelong Campground near Coonabarabran in January 2013 and destroyed more than 50 homes, while burning 95 per cent of the National Park.
Has anything changed – or is it getting worse?
On Thursday 3rd June 1999, Andrew Clennell published an article in the Sydney Morning Herald titled: “Hollywood fire chief has too much power: councils”, many Volunteers have suggested that nothing has changed and it is getting worse.