Chief Officer

This week is National Volunteer Week. It's important to recognise and thank our volunteers throughout the whole year, but this week gives us the opportunity to more formally acknowledge and celebrate the extraordinary commitment, energy and selflessness that our 58,000 volunteers bring to CFA every day. The work you do is essential. It is something that we, as an organisation and as a community, do not take for granted. The theme for National Volunteer Week 2012 is: "Volunteers - Every One Counts". Nowhere is this more evident than within CFA. Every CFA member brings knowledge, skills and experience to CFA. This gives us great diversity, strength and capability enabling us to accomplish great things for the community. Volunteers are ordinary men and women - our family, mates, neighbours, bosses, employees, the people we pass on the footpath or sit next to each day - but our volunteers are also exceptional people who give their own time and talents to serve others in their time of need. During National Volunteer week various activities will show our appreciation for all that you do. Visit CFA Connect for details on how to get involved. CFA prides itself on its volunteers who are the backbone of the organisation. We are proud to take this special opportunity to recognise our volunteers. On behalf of CFA, I say "Thank you for your effort, commitment, determination and enthusiasm. Your work is important. It is appreciated. Keep up the great effort and THANK YOU!"

International Firefighters Day - Remembering The Fallen:
Today, 4th May, is International Firefighters Day. It is a day for us to honour the memories of firefighters who have lost their lives in the line of duty. This Sunday many of us will be attending the memorial service at Fiskville, alongside CFA members, families, friends, colleagues and distinguished guests, to remember the 66 CFA firefighters who have died serving our community. It is important to recognise the men and women in our community who commit themselves to protecting the safety and welfare of our family, friends and neighbours and often, strangers they have never met. I encourage everyone to take a moment today, and on Sunday, to reflect on the work our firefighters carry out every day, to commemorate the memory of those who are no longer with us, and to celebrate the strength that comes from being a part of the CFA family. Our work can often be long, dangerous, difficult and with little reward. Every once in a while, a firefighter may be asked to do something extraordinary - to think quickly and clearly, to act decisively and to provide help amid scenes of great trauma, tragedy and personal risk. Today is a day to thank all firefighters for their extraordinary commitment, exceptional courage and for their selfless service and, sometimes, sacrifice. Some of you have served our communities for most of your life. For some a few short years. But you set yourselves apart as model citizens. You set a fine example in our community. Your willingness and dedication to serve is to be congratulated. Thank you for your service, your commitment and for your courage.

The Spirit Of CFA:
On International Firefighters Day, I am reminded by those deeply moving words on "The Spirit of CFA" posters produced in the wake of the Black Saturday fires: "Hailing from all walks of life, you are our mothers and fathers, our brothers and sisters, aunts and uncles, our grandparents, neighbours and our friends. You help and protect us, without wanting of recognition or reward. In our time of need you are there. Your courage and compassion are inspiring, your loyalty unquestionable. You comfort us with a tender hand; you stand at the face of nature's beast and fight for our lives and our land. You are the essence of the true meaning of community. You epitomise the Australian spirit, the spirit of CFA."

Knox Group Specialist Appliance Display:
A strong commendation to the Knox Group for the highly successful display of specialist appliances held on 22nd April. High praise goes to DGO's Ian Atherton, Peter Shaw and Lt2 Craig Williamson from Montrose. The display included specialist appliances and equipment from Australian Volunteer Coast Guard, Parks Victoria, Victoria Police, SES, St John Ambulance, DSE, Ambulance Victoria and MFB. Of course there were over 35 CFA vehicles participating. Acting DCO Gregg Patterson described the display as "awesome". Look forward to something bigger and better in 2014! Great leadership and initiative team - well done! For images of Knox Group's display, click here.

Psychological Safety:
Our psychological safety is just as important as our physical safety. Working as a first responder in emergency services means we are exposed to circumstances and events that others would rarely see. Just like physical safety, there are steps we can take to eliminate or minimise our exposure to psychological risk. Our People and Culture team recently discussed with me some tips on how to include psychological safety into our daily practices:
• Minimise your exposure to traumatic images and sounds wherever possible. If you coordinate training for others in CFA, this should be a key message.
• Remove yourself and your team members wherever possible - if a turn out involves an MVA and fatality, keep non-essential personnel at a distance from the scene. Make sure crew members are not exposed for too long.
• Prepare yourself wherever possible - identify things that may be distressing to you and plan how you might deal with them.
• Look after each other and activate support services (such as peers) when you need to.
• Most importantly, be prepared to talk about your feelings and ask for help if you don't feel right.

Flash Mob From Gordon:
The initiative and inspiration from our members is truly amazing. Check out the video link on CFA Connect at: http://www.cfaconnect.net.au/news/cfa-flash-mob-in-ballarat-mall.html Gordon CFA's Diane Lawson led a "flash mob" of Gordon Fire Brigade members in Ballarat's Bridge Street Mall last week. Their message was about volunteering and winter fire safety. As Diane said to the gathered media: "Most people only get to see us on the job, not as an all-singing, all-dancing mob of flash." A great, positive and fun way to get the message across. Great work Diane and team!

Successful Fuel Reduction Burn At Cardinia:
Allan Budziarski, who is Vegetation Management Officer at Southern Metro has advised of a very successful 62 ha burn carried out last week. Robbie Irving (Upper Beaconsfield) was burn OIC and was mentored by Wildfire Instructor Mark Barille. Resources were drawn from Upper Beaconsfield, Bunyip, DSE, and Melbourne Water Corporation. Allan reports that Approx 500 litres of water utilised throughout the entire duration of the burn (approx the same amount of burner mix!!). Ecological values that were accounted for in the planning stage included habitats for the Powerful Owl Habitat, Musk duck and Blue Billed duck and sensitive riparian zones. Allan says that further burns are planned for spring 2012. This is important and valued work. Terrific effort, and thank you!

Member ID project:

One of the recommendations from the Victorian Bushfire Royal Commission was that CFA supply identification cards to Fire Fighters to facilitate their passage through traffic management points. I must encourage you, if you haven't already done so to apply for one. The member ID project was established and is going very well with over 16,000 members now sporting the new tags. We would like to see as many CFA members as possible with a new ID tag. It has been very pleasing to notice a large number of the new CFA Member ID tags already being worn by both staff and volunteers. I want to stress the importance of all CFA members obtaining one of the new CFA Member ID tags as they will replace the white traffic management point stickers in the very near future. Anyone who hasn't applied for one should do so as soon as possible by going on to CFA Connect.

The Importance Of Rural Fire Stations:

Regional Director Pat O'Brien from Loddon Mallee has offered some important observations about the rural fire station program. The first relates to comments made by the Captain of Sandhill Lake (a locality in D20 without any community infrastructure whatsoever and an old tin clad wooden framed station without any facilities situated on the roadside of the Kerang - Quambatook Road) at the opening of the new 1B station late last year. His comments are paraphrased as follows: "We put up with poor roads, poor mobile phone coverage, slow or non-existent internet, almost no council services and no community infrastructure. CFA and the Government have now provided this wonderful fire station and it will benefit not only the Brigade but the whole community. Thank you. We are very grateful for this investment and demonstration of faith in our future after the years of drought, floods, mice and locusts. This station will help us to continue." The second concerns two stations, also opened by Minister Walsh, late last year; Waitchie and Annuello. Both new 1B stations replaced tin shed motor rooms without any facilities; additionally, neither community had any workable community infrastructure. Both Brigades are Rural and are located in dryland cropping areas. Waitchie Brigade and FS now host a weekly community get together every Friday night where the community gathers to have a fish and chip meal. Annuello, centrally located in Robinvale Group now hosts CFA training activities and local community meetings for which there was no previous suitable venue.

Good Friday - "Thank You!" - A Fantastic Effort All Round!:

Once There Were Three Kings:
Last weekend saw the annual Warrandyte Festival which was kicked off by a street parade on Saturday morning (led by the ‘King" or "Queen" of the Festival). This year there were three "Kings": Bernie Ezbury (Warrandyte Captain); Rohan Thornton (North Warrandyte Captain); Greg Kennedy (South Warrandyte Captain). This was a great example of the esteem that CFA (and our leadership) is held in the community. Well done to everyone involved in the leadership of these three brigades.

Is Occupational Health, Safety And Welfare At The Top Of Your Agenda?:
"Safety First!" means that OHSW needs to be at the forefront of everything we do. This includes routine business. It is a great idea to put OHSW at the top of the agenda of your meetings - be they administrative, operational, at Brigade, Group or higher levels - in fact every time we meet. It is an opportunity to check if there are issues that need to be attended to or followed up either during or after the meeting. I will be insisting this approach at meetings I am involved in from now on. You should consider this too.

Great Support To SES In North East and Gippsland Floods:

There has been lots of excellent work supporting SES in the last 2 ½ weeks in far east Gippsland and the north east. In a recent visit with SES Chief Officer Trevor White and CEO Mick Bourke, we saw first hand the efforts of CFA, SES, MFB, DSE, Army, Local Government along with Ambulance, DHS and a host of other organisations. This time around we enabled CFA commanders to be placed in positions or deputy positions at every level of the SES organisational structure.

Communicating Better:
One of the issues identified in the Jones report was the need for better communication with volunteers. We know there are improvements to be made in this area. While it's important for us to not overload you with communication, there are times when we need to send you operational and CFA-wide information. In order to determine how our members want to be kept up-to-date, CFA's strategic Communications team have developed a short survey for all members to complete. The survey will be available both online and as a tear-out hard copy in the Autumn edition of Brigade magazine with a reply paid envelope for members to complete. It will also be included in the VFBV quarterly mail-out. I encourage you to take part and have your say at:

Portland Hazmat:
Our thanks to the wonderful effort by a significant number of CFA and other agency personnel in bringing the HAZMAT incident at the Koppers coal tar pitch facility at Portland to a close. Hundreds of CFA members were involved in a range of roles. The incident was an outstanding example of agencies working together in an integrated, collaborative and collegiate way.

Today marks the third anniversary of the Black Saturday bushfires. For so many people, including CFA members, their families, their friends, their neighbours and their workmates, this will be a special and sensitive day.

An enduring feature of our landscape is fire and flood and drought. And this has given rise to a uniquely Australian characteristic - that of emergency service volunteering.  Emergency service volunteering in Australia is in many ways unique.  No other country in the world can boast the comprehensive and professional volunteer emergency services that we see here in Victoria and other states.  Indeed, as I travel the globe, many countries look upon us and our emergency service arrangements with envy.

Changes To Incidents Page On CFA Web Site:
After listening to concerns expressed by members of the public, CFA has re-introduced detail on the District number and the number of appliances at incidents on the CFA website. At the same time, CFA, DSE and the Fire Services Commissioner have been reviewing advice and warning messaging associated with recent incidents. In particular, the process for updating our website and the process for issuing updates on social media such as twitter and the CFA Facebook page. The use of social media for warnings is still new. We are learning as we go and continuously improving.

A Busy Christmas Day:
Many CFA and SES personnel had a busy Christmas and Boxing Day assisting people affected by the heavy rainfall event and hail on Christmas Day. Fire crews, Ground Observers, Liaison officers Division Commanders, and IMT members from Districts 7, 13 and 14 all gave up precious family and holiday time. To you, and to your families, we say a special "Thank You!"

Chicago Fire Department Safety Video:
In an effort to make personal safety a top priority, the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation (NFFF) and the Chicago Fire Department (CFD) have released a new video, Chicago Fire Department - Everyone Goes Home®. More than two dozen survivors of fallen firefighters, including co-workers and family members, participated in the filming of Chicago Fire Department - Everyone Goes Home. All members of the Chicago Fire Department have had the opportunity to see Chicago Fire Department - Everyone Goes Home® and it is now available for the entire fire service. To see the video, go to www.youtube.com/watch?v=vODww1qwSuE.

All of us, CFA members past and present and our families, have been shocked and saddened by reports in the Herald Sun last week that link past practices at Fiskville to various forms of cancer. Our foremost thoughts are with those CFA members who are or have been a victim of cancer and to the families of CFA members have been cancer victims. For many of us at CFA, Fiskville has been a big part of our lives. We've lived there, worked there, trained there, met there, celebrated there and we've mourned there. Many CFA members have raised their families there. Fiskville is, and has been for so many years, an integral part of the origins, history and culture of the CFA. Fiskville is close to all of our hearts. Fiskville is also a big part of the local community in the Ballan area. Many locals have been or are employees, contractors and neighbours. It is natural that many in the community are also sharing our concern and our pain.

TO ALL CFA MEMBERS AND THEIR FAMILIES:

Ladies and Gentlemen,

This morning's Herald Sun contains an article by Ruth Lamperd that makes a number of very serious allegations linking CFA's Training College at Fiskville to cancers in CFA members and their families.

These are very serious claims. The first time that we became aware of this report was yesterday when we were asked for comment by the Herald Sun.

We are very concerned for the health of our current and former CFA employees.

"THANK You And Well Done!" To:
Helen Wositzy, Tarryn Campbell, Tammy Garrett and Kate Grasby from the Eastern Metro TPP team. In the last 6 months they have developed new TPP's for the Dandenong Ranges and Healesville/Warburton corridors. This work includes community, Council and Brigade engagement; field testing the state-wide mapping product; development of "community socialisation" products such as coffee cups and "stubbie holders" to reinforce the "Fire Ready" messages. The result has been an excellent uptake of the TPP product and constructive feedback from those members of the community attending recent Brigade open days and events. This is important work. Thank you ladies!
"Well done!" to Captain Peter Connell and the Loch Sport brigade. The Brigade has just opened an extension (valued at around $150K) of a meeting room and two bay extension. The support of the community, through the locally famous "CFA Op Shop" has generated significant community funds.

"We're All In This Together":
This catch-phrase was the theme of a Bushfire Emerald, Clematis, Macclesfield and Menzies Creek Brigades Awareness Expo held recently at the Emerald Hall. Organised by the combined leadership team from, the day was a resounding success. Hundreds of people from the local community visited displays and exchanged views with DSE, VicPol, Parks Vic, Cardinia Shire, Bendigo Bank, St Marks Church, Emerald & District Co-op and the Emerald Community House. The State Aircraft Unit flew in Helitak 333, a Bell 212 Helitanker, which was a hit with everyone. The Expo included 4 "workshops" on fire prevention, leaving early and staying and defending planning. Another popular demonstration was a "burn table" on loan from DSE. Hessian is stretched over a steel frame which is set up with fuels and angles to simulate actual fire behaviour. This is a great learning tool. I was impressed and inspired by the huge effort that went into the planning and the unified passion for community resilience that was evident from agencies and from the public. A fantastic effort! Well done!

On Sunday 27 November, the Minister for Emergency Services, the Hon. Peter Ryan launched this summer's fire media campaign. The campaign this year is a lot more hard hitting and may be challenging to some members of the community, including some CFA members. The campaign will air from Thursday 1st December 2011.

We need to bring home the reality that the bushfire threat applies to all Victorians. The intent is to make sure that people, particularly those who live in high risk bushfire areas, are better prepared against the threat of fire. As we know, community complacency is a constant challenge when encouraging people to take some time out to plan their course of action.

"Thank You And Well Done!":
We thank and congratulate all those 400+ CFA brigades who opened their doors on CFA Sunday. Many Brigades reported very large numbers of the public streaming in to meet CFA members. We will be formally reviewing the success of the day to see how we can build on its success in the future. "Well done!" also goes to the planners, organisers and participants of "Exercise Fudo" which was held on Sunday 27th November in the Warrandyte and North Warrandyte area. This exercise which combined incident management teams, staging area managers, logistics support, airbase management, tactical exercises and fireground command involved around 1000 personnel from CFA, MFB, DSE, Parks Vic, SES, VicPol, Local Government, Salvation Army, St Johns, the State Aircraft Unit and ESTA. Strike Teams from Districts 8, 12, 13 and 14 travelled to the area to participate. In spite of the damp weather preceding the exercise, it was a resounding success. Thank you and job well done goes to the Ex Director LFF Troy Lowther and the Ex team of SSO Brian Wright (CFA); SO Stuart Morris (MFB); Snr Sgt Peter O'Connor (VicPol).

LACES:
Recently I attended an exercise where a member referred to the use of a "spotter" in a particular tactical situation. It reminded me of the content of a brochure that was mailed out to CFA members earlier this year. The brochure contained information on Hazardous Trees and on LACES. LACES is an easily remembered acronym that stands for LOOKOUTS; (SITUATIONAL) AWARENESS; COMMUNICATIONS; ESCAPE ROUTES and SAFETY ZONES. LACES is a bushfire safety aide that has been derived from the "Ten Standard Fire Orders" and the "Eighteen Situations That Shout Watch Out!". From my experience, keeping LACES at the front of your mind on the fireground can lead to a safer fireground. LACES challenges you to consider placing a lookout in a prominent position. It reinforces the need to ensure that everyone maintains an awareness of the situation around them, and to communicate any unusual or developing hazards they notice. Finally it reinforces that, at all times, we need to have an escape route (preferably two) to a safety zone in case a worst case scenario eventuates. I command the LACES thinking to you. It is easily remembered and easily understood. It might be a great topic to talk about for 10 or 15 minutes next time you start a Brigade meeting.

2009 Campaign Fires: "Thank you!"
CEO Mick Bourke, Board Chair Kerry Murphy and I have commenced the presentation of 2009 Campaign Fires certificates (one certificate goes to every brigade, group and work teams such as incident management teams) and individual Campaign Pins. A simple way of saying "Thank you".

Medium Helitanker Located At Sealake:
DCO Steve Warrington advises that a Birddog aircraft and a Helitanker are in place at Sea Lake for a period of eight weeks to cover the risks associated with the harvest season in the north west of the state. This is the first time we have allocated aircraft in this part of the State. This is a significant achievement that recognises the specific risks associated with harvesting operations. Thanks go to OM Bill Johnston, OO's Mathew Gardner, Wayne Rigg and Brett Boatman, with the support of Peter Higgins and the State Aircraft Unit team for their drive and tenacity to see this through. The rationale of resource allocation based on risk has the potential to save the State and the Victorian cropping community, particularly in the north west, millions of dollars with the rapid intervention of an aircraft during a fire event. This was a great team effort to get this across the line. Congratulations.

A History Of Bushfire In Australia:
GIS Manager Mark Garvey has sent the link below to an Australian Geographic animation of bushfires in Australia over the last 20 years or so. The animation is by NASA.
http://www.australiangeographic.com.au/journal/history-of-bushfires-in-australia.htm

"Well Done!" To:
Operations Officer Colin Brown highlights the role of the District 13 Feeding Group and Monbulk Brigade for their professional performance and timely response to the HAZMAT incident on Friday 7th October at the Cadburys factory Koornang Road Scoresby. Colin reports that they arrived on site and had tea/coffee and hot hamburger meals within 30mins. All the team demonstrated a very professional approach to the task and this was reflected in the comments that Colin received from the fire services, VICPOL and other support agency members.

The Start Of The Fire Danger Period:
The 1st of November sees the Fire Danger Period commences in the Colac Otway and Corangamite Shires. On the 7th November, the Fire Danger Period commences in Mildura Rural City Council.

"Well done!" to: Ali Martin and the team from community safety who organised the volunteer community engagement and fire awareness forum at Mt Macedon last weekend. An inspiring gathering of over 160 volunteers who are involved at community and brigade level in delivery of our essential community safety messages. The forum was facilitated by Captain John Schauble and participants heard from Deputy Captain Glenn O'Rourke from the NSW RFS who spoke on Integrated Community Engagement in Wollombi Valley NSW; Peter Wall and Rayleigh Vandermost (from Hamilton CFA) about "Brigade Blitz - Getting the message through to our own people"; David Brown from Wodonga and Daniel Eshuis from Warragul spoke about the use of social media; and Bruce Conboy spoke about A Brigade Support Team Model from Mount Martha. The forum used a number of workshops to develop themes so that CFA can better support our community educators who operate at the frontline with the community. A fantastic effort! Well done team!

Congratulations To Simon Armitage - Serra Group Officer:
At a recent celebration of the Dunkeld CFA's 75th anniversary I was privileged to award a National Medal to G/O Simon Armitage. The accompanying citation describes Simon with the following words: "...practical... flair and humour .... An uncanny ability to make decisions and communicate them clearly and calmly under pressure.... A tough, courageous, no-nonsense and resourceful leader.... Simon is no stranger to controversy and will fight for what he believes in, whatever the odds, but always mixed with wit and humour." A great inspiration to others around him. Well done Simon!

There is much activity in CFA at the moment. Set against the ongoing daily demands of delivering fire and emergency services, there is an escalating tempo in our bushfire education and community liaison teams. Parts of the state are drying. Preparations for the fire season are in full swing with pre-season briefings, and multi-agency pre-fire season exercises. Revised "Joint SOP's" have been approved, and key community bushfire safety policies have recently been endorsed. CFA is also briefing members about future options for emergency management. We are adopting our business plan to incorporate the Fire Services Commissioner's 3 year rolling reform plan.  Amongst all this activity it is important to keep a sustainable pace. As we rearrange our priorities ensure that you set aside time to take care of yourself and for your family. The Dalai Lama says we should all take 30 minutes a day to be with ourselves. This is good advice. As you get around your work colleagues, keep an eye out for their welfare. We all work in teams and occasionally we get stressed and tired and emotional. Sometimes it takes a member of your team to remind you to slow down, to ease off, or to go home early today. Take care of yourselves, take care of each other and remember to be nice to those around you.

Well Done And Keep Up The Great Work To:
"Well done!" to the leadership team and the organisers from Bayswater CFA Brigade for hosting the "Control Line 2011" conference last week. Speakers included the Minister for Emergency Services The Hon. Peter Ryan; retired Maj Gen Jim Molan AO DSC; Professor Chris Brook (Dept of Health); Professor Paul ‘t Hart (via video); Captain Chris Johnston (recently returned Intelligence Officer from Australian Army); and Fire Services Commissioner Craig Lapsley. The conference (which attracted a large attendance) focussed on lessons learned from major military operations; crisis management principles; the political realities that overlay management of major emergencies; and the military 'intelligence management' process.

Updated Fire And Emergency Management Checklists:
Project Coordinator Matthew Fraser has advised that a new version of "Fire and Emergency Management" Checklists has recently been printed. These are now being distributed to Districts. The checklists have been comprehensively reviewed, taking on board feedback from many members. Immediately noticeable is the reduction in size - the review identified a lot of information that wasn't relevant to a "fireground" reference checklist. The checklists are in pocket and A5 versions. Key information includes safety and first aid; vehicle safety; radio procedures; role checklists; technical advice for common and uncommon incidents; and a host of technical references. I commend you to spend some time noting the contents, and ensuring they are readily accessible when on the job.

Well Done And Keep Up The Great Work To:
Point Cook volunteer firefighter John Hydes recently made the news by rescuing two children from a house fire in Point Cook last Saturday night. John, who recently moved here from New Zealand, saved his neighbours 5y.o. son and 7y.o. daughter from their Point Cook home just minutes before the roof collapsed. Fantastic work John and "Well done!" "Well done!" to O/O Officer Tony O'Day who was the winner of the AFAC award for the "People's Choice Poster Award 2011" as judged by the attendees at this year's AFAC Conference. Tony's poster was on lessons from CFA's involvement in last year's Mercury 2010 national counter terrorism exercise and the relevance for bushfire incident management teams. "Well done!" also, to SSO Greg Chapman, LFF Steve Brodie and FF Alex Batty from Hallam Station who arrived at a washaway to find a victim in cardiac arrest. They took over CPR from bystanders and used recently gained Emergency Management Response training to use their defibrillator to shock the patient twice to get his heart back into normal rhythm, followed by CPR until the arrival of a MICA unit. Their actions, combined with the early intervention of a bystander performing CPR prior to their arrival, have saved the patient's life. Finally, "Well done!" to Julie Wynzar and Susan Showler from Barwon South West Region who organised a function to celebrate the Women and Fire Mentoring Program at Hamilton recently. It was great to see proactive support for women in CFA by many mentors - both men and women. There was a real buzz of optimism and enthusiasm at the celebration.

Take Care driving CFA Vehicles:
Last week Berwick Pumper was involved in a serious accident whilst travelling Code 1 to a job. The pumper collided with a vehicle whilst traversing a controlled intersection. As a result of the accident two members of the public were hospitalised. In recent months, there have been a number of serious accidents involving CFA vehicles travelling under emergency conditions. It is worthy to reinforce that the safety of a CFA vehicle, its occupants and that of other road users is the responsibility of the driver. Code 1 driving is always an inherently dangerous activity. Situational awareness, adjusting driving to weather and road conditions and maintaining vehicle control at all times are all critical to safe driving.

Our 59,000 volunteers are CFA's biggest resource and I know the release today of the Honourable David Jones' Inquiry into Effect of Arrangements made by CFA on its Volunteers will be of considerable interest to many of you.

Fire Action Week:
This week, the Government announced that Fire Action Week in Victoria will be from 13th to 20th November. The week will culminate in "CFA Sunday" on 20th November. CFA Sunday will be an opportunity for CFA Brigades to open their doors, invite the community in to see what we do, and to celebrate the values and men and women who are the CFA. The CFA is providing funding to support brigades host a barbeque on CFA Sunday.

State Bushfire Command And Control Arrangements:
Recently the State Fire Control Team and the Fire Services Commissioner signed off on the revised arrangements for bushfire command and control for this fire season. I commend the document to you and encourage you to thoroughly read and familiarise yourself with the arrangements found at:
http://www.firecommissioner.vic.gov.au/images/stories/State_Command_amd_Control_Arrangemments_for_Bushfire_August_2011.pdf

Recently the Bushfire Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) met with state and territory and Bureau of Meteorology officers to evaluate the up coming fire risk. The fire season prognosis is found on the web at: www.bushfirecrc.com/firenotes

Having endured over 10 years of drought, the outlook for 2011-12 is quite different. We have seen a return to normalised rainfall across much of Victoria. In fact, many locations have seen above average or very much above average rain over the last 12 months.

Access To CFA And DSE Operational Information Systems By CFA Volunteers:

In the last few weeks, I have had a number of complaints about inability of CFA volunteers, who perform Level 3 Incident Management Roles, to be able to access key CFA and DSE operational information management systems.  Manager I/T Michael Foreshew reports that:  “The main reason why access is restricted is due to the potentially very large number of direct (individual) connections.  It is not so much a function of the size of hardware, but rather just the way the software operates.  This is the main reason why a special feed from IMS to Brigades Online was developed.  This allows volunteers to maintain visibility of incidents without placing additional load on IMS.”

Today the Fire Services Commissioner, Craig Lapsley, released the report of the Review into the Tostaree Fire in February 2011.