CFA Connect Blogosphere

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.

Loddon Mallee Region has conducted a number of teamwork and leadership courses at Hattah in the last couple of months. These always provide an invaluable opportunity for discussion amongst participants about what good teamwork and leadership really mean, how best to lead and what a good team looks and feels like.

I have particularly found the exchanges of views, experience and ideas at the leadership courses to be of great personal value. It's been very instructive for me, as always, to see how others go about exercising leadership. The debriefs we conduct, after each participant has a go at leading the team through a mission, have produced some deep and meaningful exchanges.