This podcast was published on the 2GB network on the 9th November 2018.
Drought this year is expected to deliver catastrophic bushfire conditions.
Just out from the start of Summer, rural property owners are being reminded it’s not too late to start preparing.
Rural reporter Eddie Summerfield caught up with New South Wales Farmers Conservation Committee member Mitchell Clapham.
WARNING: Fire service bureaucrats are warned that this podcast may contain simple and common sense solutions.
Ray Hadley is supporting Oliver
A big thank you to the residents of the Cottage Point community and Ray Hadley for their support of Oliver.
Be Afraid, Be Very Afraid
Are modern firefighting agencies inciting fear as a method of risk management rather than applying appropriate risk control measures?
Fear is a powerful tool, it sells newspapers, keeps the television ratings alive, gives our radio stations some great material to talk about and it helps to drive campaigns to increase public spending on reactive and expensive firefighting strategies that we simply cannot afford.
Image if we could return to a situation where our local firefighters looked after their own patch without the red tape associated with hazard reduction. Image how nice it would be if our land management practices were returned to a commonsense and balanced approach that our Indigenous Australians, farmers and graziers have used in the past.
Instead of cooking the guts out of the country, we could see improved forest health and reduced risk to our native animals and the bush that we love so much.
Instead, we see another story that warns us of a bleak bushfire outlook. There is no mention of the massive fuel loads that are the root cause of this problem.
The elephant in the room is fuel.
Dubbo is the place to be…
The new facility will create a state of the art emergency services headquarters.
This facility in Dubbo, will be purpose-built and fit for the task, and it will be a mecca for emergency services and volunteers. This is the start of a new venture and a new era for emergency services and emergency management.
VFFA President talks to Graeme Gilbert (2SM Super Radio Network) about RFS Reform
The media has become interested in the need for major reform after the release of the NSW Upper House report, entitled Emergency Services Agencies NSW.
The audio file (below) was captured on Wednesday 25th July, by a VFFA supporter as he listened to an interview with the VFFA President, Mick Holton by Graeme Gilbert of the 2SM Super Radio Network.
Mr Gilbert gave our association approximately twenty eight minutes of air time.
The 2SM Super Radio Network broadcasts across Sydney, many rural and regional areas of NSW.
Comments and feedback are most welcome.
The audio file is provided is this post.
Bargo’s new Fire Station
Bargo’s volunteer firefighters finally have a new shed to call home.
The NSW Rural Fire Service, brigade members and dignitaries officially opened the Bargo fire station at 10 Avon Dam Road on Saturday, May 12.
NSW RFS senior assistant commissioner Bruce McDonald said the $1.3 million station was partly funded by the brigade members’ fundraising effort.
The station features four truck bays, clothing racks, a meeting room, office and kitchen. The station is larger than the brigade’s previous site and also features training areas.
Fighting Fire with Fire – Cultural burning at Bundanon brings life back to the land
On a day topping 30 degrees in tinder-dry bush at Haunted Point, Indigenous elder Sonny Timbery is showing a group of teenage boys how to light fires.
“The knowledge is held within the landscape. Once we learn how to read that landscape and interpret that knowledge, that’s when we can apply those fire practices.”
Firefighters from the NSW Rural Fire Service watch as the teenagers use firesticks made from bark to ignite leaf litter that has accumulated on a ridge above the Shoalhaven River.
Reedy Swamp (Tathra Fire) VFFA Media Release
March 21, 2018
Reedy Swamp, Bega (Tathra Fire)
The Tathra Fire was a terrible tragedy for all involved. The Volunteer Fire Fighters Association (VFFA) has decided to publish the following 6 points in response to the media generated interest.
1. Firefighters did a good job
The firefighters did a great job, but they can only do so much on a bad day.
2. Less Fuel equals Less Fire
A lot of fuel on a bad day is a recipe for disaster. This situation will only get worse if we don’t change our approach to land management.
Hazard reduction in NSW deals with approximately 1% of bush fire prone land each year (that’s 100 years of work to get the job done). Bush fire scientists (the likes of Phil Cheney) state that we should be treating more like 8% of bush fire prone land annually.
Less fuel will result in lower intensity fires (less fire). Proper land management is vital to protecting the environment, animals, human lives, our property and our way of life. Big fires can destroy everything in their path, but the right fire can prevent the destruction…
Alan slams minister’s Tathra response: ‘You are a disappointment Troy!’
Mr Grant has announced an independent investigation into the callout procedures for bushfires, in the wake of the blaze that destroyed 69 homes on the south coast.
Questions are being raised about the responsibilities of, and competition between, the Rural Fire Service and Fire and Rescue New South Wales.
The RFS declined two offers of assistance before the fire jumped the Bega River and tore through the seaside town.
Several people within Fire and Rescue NSW have told Alan a “turf war” between the two organisations has been putting people’s homes and lives at risk for decades.
Emergency Services Minister Troy Grant tells Alan he won’t be taking action until an independent investigation looks into the matter.
“The RFS Commissioner has already referred this fire to the Coroner… why is that a problem?
“The working relationship between the two, I don’t think has been better for years.”
Alan, “You’re kidding me. You are a disappointment Troy, you’re miles off the pace!
“If you were returning to a home that had been burnt to the ground and you’d lost everything, you’d want a better response than Troy Grant has given me today.”
Listen to the explosive interview in full…
Demolition moves RFS training centre closer to construction
This news article appeared in the Daily Liberal on February 2nd 2018. It is clear that the Lets put the RURAL back into the Rural Fire Service campaign is beginning to bear fruit.
Congratulations to Mayor, Ben Shields for his support.
Progress is being made on the construction of a Rural Fire Service training facility.
Dubbo Regional Council has awarded a tender for the demolition of buildings at Dubbo City Regional Airport where the training facility will be constructed.
The centre will provide specialist training in areas such as incident management, road crash rescue and fire investigation, as well as member induction training.
With a 30-year lease agreement in place, it is fair to say that the flow-on effects will be felt in the local economy well into the future, says Mayor Ben Shields.