VFFA Magazines

The magazine known as “the volunteer fire fighter” is the official magazine of the Volunteer Fire Fighters Association.

2022 June

Volume 14 No 1:

President’s Report
From the Secretary’s Desk
The Imbalance of Power
Ladies Firefighter Training and Information Day
RFS Volunteer Profile
Fire Investigation in the NSW RFS
Trip Down Memory Lane
Saving our Forests and controlling our Climate
The Drift of the Forests
Traditional Management
Volunteer Profile
Kosciusko National Park: A Habitat for Mega Fires
To Burn or Not to Burn
Firestorms
Are Drones, UAVs or RPAs part of our future?
Our Megafires are a Political, Not a Climate Crisis
Logging and Bushfires, Is there a Connection?
Australian Bushfire Historic Imagery from 25 January 1952
Major Bushfires in Australian History
Opportunities for Improved Fire Management in Australia
Forestry Corporation NSW
When the Bushfire came, I Cheered!
VFFA Membership Form (Free to Join)

2021 Winter

Volume 13 No 1:

President’s Report
Bushfire Preparation
Small Planes, Helicopters and Drones
Justice for Volunteers
Recognition of your Service
Standing by your Mates
The Tumut Valley Fire (1965)
Forest Hazard Reduction
Wildfires, Fuel and Hazard Reduction
Farm Fire Safety
2019/20 Giro & Bretti Fires (Photos)
VFFA Membership Form (Free to Join)
VFFA Supporters Directory

2020 Winter

Volume 11 No 2:

President’s Report
National Disaster Arrangements
RFS Tanker Design
Six Shades of Fire Lighters
RFS Catering Volunteers
After The Gospers Mountain Fire
Bushfire LIVE
Goin’ Bush
What did we do to deserve this?
Hazard Reduction Works
Book Review: Fire Country
VFFA Membership Form (Free to Join)

2019 Summer

Volume 11 No 2:

President’s Report
Update on RFS Volunteer abandoned
Bushfire Cycle Revisited
Landline
Koalas & Catastrophic Fuel Loads
Deputy Premier
Potato Point
Roy Butler – NSW Member for Barwon
Belowra Station Opening
Goin’ Bush
NSW Member for Murray
RFS Volunteers Hand Their Medals Back
NSW Farmers: An early start to bushfire season
More than a Tummy Bug
The Base Camps
NSW Member for Orange
Angel Flight
The Phantom Say’s
VFFA Membership Form (Free to Join)

2019 Winter

Volume 11 No 1:

President’s Report
Update on RFS Volunteer abandoned
Who is the RFS’s minister for free speech?
Meet Gracie, the Flying Doctor Guide Dog
Fire and the Eucalypt
Beyond our Patches – Interagency Cohesion
Goin’ Bush
Never Seen The Outback Like This
Shoalhaven, NSW (Visitor guide)
The Red Heart’s Hidden Secrets
House fire at Spencer
Welcome to Spencer
70 Years of Land Rover
NSW State Election
Mental Health of Volunteers
NSW Farmers: Bush Fire Management, A whole community responsibility
Angel Flight
The Phantom Says’
VFFA Membership Form

2018 Summer

Volume 10 No 2:

President’s Report
Why would anyone join the RFS?
Ootha NSW
Dubbo… simply the place to be
Naradhan gets a visit from Corrimal Rotary Club
Goin’ Bush
How is your prostate?
70 Years of Land Rover – Cooma 2018
Discover your undiscovered in the Queanbeyan-Palerang Region
Outback Radio 2WEB – 40 Years of Service
4WD ACT / NSW
Pat Callinans 4×4 Article: Smartphone Photography
Community Expectations
Welcome to the NSW Rural Fire Service
Shooters, Fishers & Farmers
Yankee’s Gap Fire
NSW Farmers
Angel Flight
The Phantom Says’
VFFA Membership Form

2018 Winter

Volume 10 No 1:

President’s Report
Tathra – Bushfire lessons learnt
NSW Farmers Association – Bushfires and Mental Health
Minister, your chickens have come home to roost!
Bargo gets a new station at last!
Vale – Ken Lucas
RFS Head Office – The Big Move West is on
Goin’ Bush
From the fire ground and Durran Durra
Welcome to Cooma: Capital of the snowy mountains
Come visit Australia’s Alpine Playground
Aus Explorer – Charles Sturt: In search of a chimera
21 is not enough
Vale – Jack Mullins
Angel Flight wins I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here 2018
John Hojel, Thank you
Vale – Chris Nesbitt
Said Hanrahan
After the flames have gone out
The Phantom Says’
How low can they go
VFFA Membership Form

2017 Summer

Volume 9 No 2:

President’s Report
VFFA goes to Henty Machinery Field Day 2017
Petition | Ben Shields – Mayor Dubbo Regional Council
NSW Farmers Association
A Story of a Really Top Bloke
Naradhan gets a new Fire Station
Angel Flight helping another Australian Family
Glossodia Rural Fire Brigade – Graeme Jay – Life Membership
Goin’ Bush – Sand Driving and Summer Fun
Dubbo NSW – A Vibrant Regional City
Touring Technique – Recovery Points
Touring Technique – Winch Maintenance
The Curious Story of Rudolf Diesel
Mortimer’s of Orange Wines
Is Four Wheel Driving in Africa as good as it is in Australia?
Protect Yourself from Vexatious Allegations
HR @ Kurrajong Heights
A Discussion About Some Concepts to Make Wildland Firefighting “Safer”
Remember When We Were Managed by Local Councils
The Phantom Says’
Weeds in the System
What Sort of Message are we Sending to the Public?
VFFA Membership Form

2017 Winter

Volume 9 No 1:

President’s Report
Sir Ivan Fire
NSW Farmers Association
Congratulations Greg Green
Potato Point Remains at Great Risk
Does the RFS Value its Volunteers as Customers?
Federal Coalition begins Decentralisation Process
Upside Down Country and the Problem with the RFS
Angel Flights Jarrod Roesler
Goin’ Bush
The Original Adventure Seekers
Winter Driving Tips
Town in Feature – Forbes NSW
Tablets – Take Two and Call Me in the Morning!
Touring Technique – Soldering and Crimping
Australian Explorer – Soldier of Fortune
Project 130 – Weight Matters
Protecting my 4WD Assets
Live and Learn – The Psychology of Survival
The Fire Fighter
Inherently Safe System
2016 Fall Fires in the Appalachian Mountains
The Phantom Says’
Fire Service Danger Meter
VFFA Membership Form

2016 Summer

Volume 8 No 2:

President’s Report
A Week is Certainly a Long Time in Politics!
The Orange Bi-Election – Shooters, Fishers & Farmers
Adaminaby RFS’s Bill Mansfield
NSW Farmers Association
Tumble Down Dick RFB
Fire & Rescue NSW Commissioner Retires
Angel Flight
Goin’ Bush 4WD Training – Do you need it?
Wedge-tailed Eagle
Town in Feature – Cowra
How many of you have a love for and play a Guitar?
The Simpson Desert like a few have ever seen
Yamaha Jet Trekkers Raise Over $140k for Children in Need
Easy Beef Stroganoff
How to Read a Tyre Sidewall
Consultation Draft
Fire in 1788
On the Receiving End
Leadership – Your Decisions make all the Difference
Lessons from History: Monkey-Eaters in the Scrub
Discrimination & Favouritism in the RFS
Health and Safety Representatives (HSR) – A proactive approach to safety
The Phantom Says’

2016 Winter

Volume 8 No 1:

From the President’s Desk
Yes Minister
Responses from the Coonabarabran Community
NSW Farmers Association
Burning Questions for Potato Point
Trundle ABBA Festival
Decentralisation
Guy Zangari Member for Fairfield
Why the NSW Rural Fire Service Should Relocate to Parkes
Goin’ Bush
Using a Snatch Strap Safely
Great Family Fishing Trips
In the Footsteps of Burke & Wills
GPS reception not what it should be?
The Compass Termite
VFFA proudly supporting Angel Flight
Blazeaid – Simply Incredible People
The Growth of the RFS Bureaucracy
Snowy Mountains Horse Riders Association (SMHRA)
The Tasmanian Fires of 2016
Angel Flight
RFDS – Nightmare bite ends in flight
The Phantom Speaks Out

2015 Summer

Volume 7 No 2:

From the President’s Desk
President’s Profile
Almost 3 Years since Wambelong
Fire Trails
NSW Farmers Association
Peter J. Cannon OAM
Glossodia RFS’s Parmenter Family & their Supporting of Bear Cottage
Angel Flight
Taking a look at Bargo RFS
Goin’ Bush
Off Road Leisure – NSW Outback Town of Bourke
With thanks to our NSW Ambo’s
Winching Safely
Travelling the Outback – Summer 2015
Book Review
UAV Hobbyist and Wildfires
Megafires, Paramilitaries and Global Warming Enthusiasts
So, Marine Rescue NSW…who are they?
Drones and Small Remote Brigades
Workplace Injury
Fire from the Sky
Early Days of Aerial Burning
The Phantom Speaks Out

2015 Winter

Volume 7 No 1:

Photo Competition
NSW Storms – April 2015
ANZAC Day and RFS Volunteers
Peter J. Cannon OAM
St. Albans Rural Fire Brigade
Wambelong Fire Enquiry Update
Restore Bushfire Security to Our Vulnerable Community
Vale – Lawrence David Norton
RFS – New Isuzu Category 1 Tanker
Belowra Continues the Bush Fire Brigade Tradition
High Fire Field Day
New Station for Tinpot Brigade
The People of Clare Ask – Can Anyone Hear Us?
Decentralisation of NSW Rural Fire Service
Fire Experts with a Common Objective
Oh, When Will They Ever Learn?
The Phantom Speaks Out

2014 Summer

Volume 6 No 2:

Photo Competition
We want our Blue Shirts back, is this too much to ask?
The Benefits of a CFU
In 1985 we had 600m, but National Parks won’t give an inch today!
Long Service Awards presented at the 85 Year Reunion of Naradhan RFS
Base Camp…or the Sheraton?
Waratah Brigade gets a Brand New Isuzu Grasslands Tanker
Farm Fire Management Suggestions and Fire Service Issues
Country Women’s Association NSW
Meet the new NSW Deputy Premier
NSW Volunteer Rescue Association Inc.
BlazeAid.com
Pioneer Use of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) for 2014 Wildfires
Remembering Bushfires
The Path of Natural Justice
Brigade Camaraderie, The True Spirit of the RFS
The Phantom Speaks Out
The Alarming Truth

2014 Winter

Volume 6 No 1:

Eighteen Months on from the Disastrous Wambelong Fire around Coonabarabran
The Williamtown Meeting
BlazeAid
Brigade in Focus
The Firefighters Pocket Book
The Impact of Climate Change on the Way We Build
Victorian Fire Politics
A Tale of Two Bushfires in the Outer-Suburbs of Perth
Work Health and Safety – Bullying in the Workplace
Fire Fighter Rescue
Have You Experienced a Major Fire Event?

2013 Summer

Volume 5 No 2:

Southern Highlands October 2013 | Weatherzone joins up with VFFA
VFFA Region South
Lithgow and the Hawkesbury Fires
Summer Wildfires…What are we doing?
Death by Fire and Culpable Neglect
Coonabarabran / Warrumbungles
Thanks to our NSW Ambos
Coonabarabran – Vale Valentino
West Pittwater runs a BF Course
Can Australian and US Smoke Alarm Standards be Trusted? Part 2
Boxes for BlazeAid’s Star Picket Drivers
The Burning Issue
The Phantom Speaks Out Awards
Work Health & Safety
Rural Fires Act & Government Laws Restrict Property Protection
Fire Risk Management Model – The Canobolas Model
Benefits of a Bushfire Community Protection Plan (CPP) for Nerrigundah
The Worsening Victorian Fire Risk in the Mountains
Fuel Reduction Burns in Victoria
Alan Grant McArthur – the founder of Australian Bush Fire Science
Mussel a Fire Fighters Friend

2013 Winter

Volume 5 No 1:

Why I Support the VFFA
Coonabarabran Fires 2013
A Disaster Waiting to Happen
Dear Commissioner, Why Not Use Local Knowledge?
Photo Gallery – Mt Forest Yarrabin Fire 2013
A Tough Day at Tarcutta
Structure and Rating of Forest Fuels
Canobolas Model – Where is it?
Attitudes to Fire and the Environment
Bushfire Myths
A Tale of Two Deployments
Photo Gallery – West Head Fire 2013
Recruitment and Retention – No Simple Answers
Frustrations of Dealing with a Modern Day RFS
RFS Volunteer Fire Fighter Discipline Procedures in need of Reform
Macalister Flood Risk
The Truth About the Proposed Emergency Services Levy
Ashes of the Fire Fighters
Historical Hand Pump
The Phantom Speaks Out
State Mitigation Support System
The Changing Relationship of NSW Local Government and the RFS
NSW Farmers and Bushfire Matters
Smoke Alarms Testing Standards Under Fire

2012 Summer

Volume 4 No 2:

Wallaga Lake Community Fire Unit
Fuel Moisture
Volunteers give Julie a Fitting Farewell
The Berridale Bush Fire Brigade
The Victoria Fire Risk in the Mountains
There are Funds Available Out There
Review of the Emergency Services Levy
Emergency Services Levy
WA Emergency Services Levy
A Story about “The Gorge”
World Fire Safety Foundation
VFFA Smoke Alarm Warning
Volunteer Rural Fire-fighter Recruitment & Retention
NowForce Made for Urban Centred and Rural Emergency Services
Grass Fire at Mushroom Farm
Captain’s Report and Brigade History
VFFA Relief Fund Proposal
Photo Gallery
Fire Fighting Yesteryear
NSW Board of Fire Commissioners Treaty
Burn Off Brigade
Firefighting in the USA
Living Beside a National Park
Wildfire Education and Experience – NAPA – Our US Experience
NSW Farmers and Bushfire Matters

2012 Winter

Volume 4 No 1:

Independent Hazard Reduction Audit Panel
Denis McIntyre
Alan Brown
Estimating Wind Speed
National Corridors Plan Concern
The NAPA Pilot Proposal
Volunteer Rural Fire-Fighters Could Face Prosecution under New National Safety Laws
RFS Library
Challenge Testing – Recognised Prior Learning
BAL Compliance, ‘to Seal or not to Seal’ that’s the Question
Encouraging our Volunteers
Fire Tragedy in the Blue Mountains
NSW Farmers and Bushfire Matters
Photo Galler
The Good Ol’ Days
The Gravy Train
Vale – Dennis Joiner

2011 Summer

Volume 3 No 2:

Kurrajong Heights Brigade’s Submission Regarding the Proposed RFS Cad-Based Callout System
BFCC & RFSAC
Volunteer Representation NSW RFS Reform Paper
Blue Mountains Achilles Heel
Volunteer Fire Fighters and Injury Compensation
Brigade Websites
The RFS Radio Network as seen by a Volunteer
Reality Check, from a Grumpy Old Bush Firefighter
After the Flames and Fury – Impressions of Change
When NSW is in a State of Financial Uncertainty…yet more Greed
State Mitigation Support Service (SMSS)
Photo Gallery | Mosaic Zoning Approach to Hazard Reduction
Fire Trucks
Newell Highway Hazard Reduction Burns
Rail Line Burn – Mickibri
A More Efficient and Effective RFS Operational Structure
Subsidy for the Retrofitting of Bushfire Protection Measures to Older Dwellings in High Risk Bushfire Zones
Ionization Smoke Alarms are Deadly
Bush Fire at The Dish – 1 December 2004
The Canobalas Bush Fire Model
Values
Book Review

2011 Winter

Volume 3 No 1:

How can we Protect Residents from Bushfires?
The VFFA Welcomes New NSW Police & Emergency Services Minister Mr Michael Gallacher
Volunteers and Occupational Health and Safety
Car Fires – The Hidden Dangers
RFS Volunteer Fire Fighter Discipline Procedures in Need of Reform
The Combo Con
State Mitigation Team
Decentralisation – It’s Time!
RFS to Pay $6 Million Tax Debt
RFS uses Volunteer Funds to Pay the Fringe Benefits Tax incurred by Staff
Shipley Re-instated
Tropical Cyclone Yasi Clean-Up
Fuel Loadings over Spring and Summer 2010/11
Bargo Volunteer Rural Fire Brigade goes CABA
Volunteer Firefighters Don’t Just Fight Fires

2010 Summer

Volume 2 No 2:

Communications Gone out the Window
Understanding Roles
The Fire Shed Siren Rises from the Ashes
Hon Melinda Pavey MLC
Safety Fears Over New Fire Trucks
Photo Gallery
Self Employed Injured Fire Fighters’ Compensation
The World Fire Safety Foundation
Grose Head South Fire
Catastrophe – Fuel Mitigation or More of the Same
The Yellow T-Shirt
Local Concerns But Who’s Listening
NSW Volunteer Firefighters Demand an Increase in Hazard Reduction Burning
Windellama Bushfire Brigade
2003 The Year That Fffffed Me About
What’s in a Name?
Using Headers during Harvest
Did The Goal Posts Move Again?

2010 Winter

Volume 2 No 1:

Victorian Fires 2009
Active Fuel Management in National Parks
Community Sees Danger in NSW Catastrophic Fire Ratings
Hon Melinda Pavey MLC
Workers Retreat Battle
VFFA profile
Black is all I See
Commonwealth Senate Select Committee Inquiry
Volunteer Fire Fighters want changes to Tax Laws to go Further
Independent Bushfire Research Institute
If It Ain’t Broke
Fire Behaviour – Threshold Windspeed
Let’s Move The Goal Posts – Again
Photo Gallery
Bushfire and Native Fauna Population

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Volunteer Fire Fighters Association

The Voice of Volunteer Firefighters in NSW