CFA Connect Blogosphere

I'd like to use this blog to discuss our Member Engagement Project, which is now gaining momentum.

Welcome to my first ever blog. There's been some fantastic work recently that has prompted me to reflect on the efforts of our people, in particular the work done by our volunteers throughout recent Community Safety campaigns.

24 hour CFA / MFB Relay: Leading Firefighter James Wong from Boronia has alerted me to the 24 hour CFA/MFB Relay. The purpose is to raise funds for the Royal Children's Hospital "Good Friday Appeal". Following a very successful inaugural event last year, CFA and MFB will again join forces to make an impact for the community: "two services, one cause". The event is being organized by the CFA Running and Adventure Club (CFARAC) and MFB Charity Running Club (MFBCRC). The event runs from 0900hrs Thursday 21 to 0900hrs Friday 22 April. Run well, stay safe and successful fund raising!

CFA Ramps Up To Support Flood Victims

Last week CFA and DSE, on the advice of SES, VicPol and DHS readied for a new task in the wake of the floods occurring in the west and north of the State.  We accepted the role of “clean up” in the immediate time after flood waters receded.  CFA and DSE then established a structure that reported to O/O Rohan Luke on the Regional Relief and Recovery Committee.  R/C Mike Wassing initially represented CFA on the Regional Emergency Management Team, then accepted the role of Chair of that Team in order to free up SES personnel.

I recently had the opportunity to visit the Southern Metropolitan Region with Chief Officer Euan Ferguson and was inspired to write about it.

The aim was to give Euan a tour of Southern Metro and the various challenges our Community Safety staff are taking on, and I really enjoyed getting out and about to experience first-hand all the great work they're doing.

Flood Relief Operations: As I write 3,500 people on 1,408 properties in 46 townships across 21 Municipalities have been affected by recent flooding in the west and central parts of Victoria. SES has logged nearly 5,500 requests for assistance and have performed 50 flood rescues. CFA has been strongly supporting SES on the ground, in local command, Division Command, Incident Management and at a State level. There have been dramatic actions, including one near Gordon where CFA, Vic Police, Ambulance and local famers were directly responsible for rescuing a youth who was trapped in a drain in rising flood waters. CFA is working as part of an integrated team with a range of emergency services and local government. A number of CFA facilities have been affected, including flooding at the Rochester Fire station and damage sustained to a number of firefighting vehicles. This has been a resounding team effort. It is not yet over. In the next few days we will see Horsham and Kerang come under pressure. We pause to think of the many people - and there will be CFA and SES volunteers amongst them - who have been affected by these floods. There will be a slow and long recovery. To everyone who has pitched in and helped - at any level and in any capacity: "THANK YOU! AND KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK!" CFA is in constant contact with SES in Victoria and also is monitoring the situation in Queensland. We are constantly assessing if CFA has a capability to offer and where appropriate are making that offer to the control agencies.

Welcome to 2011! - Let' s make this a year "when everyone goes home safe!"

Where Is The Chief Officer?: Many of you will be asking: "Why haven't I seen the Chief Officer yet?" As I said when I started, I will make it a priority to get around and meet people early. So, if you are in Headquarters, don't be surprised if I am an apology at your meeting. If you are in a District, be patient - I'm on my way. Over the last 7 weeks I've been pleased to meet with CFA staff and volunteers at Castlemaine, Geelong, Colac, Hamilton, Penshurst, Fiskville, Swan Hill, Shepparton, Arthur's Creek, Kinglake West, Kinglake, Sassafras-Ferny Creek, Yarra Valley, Warrandyte South, Kangaroo Ground, Kilmore East, Hilldene, Traralgon, Wangaratta, Myrtleford, Mudgegonga and Tarrawingee.

I hope everyone had a great break, I certainly did.

I would like to share with you an update of some of our recent achievements under the Bushfires Program:

Volunteer Identification Program

Operational volunteers will receive a ‘vehicle identification sticker’ to place on car windscreens to improve access past Traffic Management Points. The stickers will assist volunteers in being easily identifiable and support them in doing their job. This project is in response to recommendation 19 of the Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission Report and will be implemented for this fire season. Stickers are also being developed for private equipment that meets CFA guidelines and will be used during bushfires to support fire fighting efforts.

I'd like to inform you of the ‘FireReady Roadshow' which will be visiting over 40 community events around the state across ten weeks.

Ahead of the 2010/11 fire season I want to thank the CFA's 60,000 members for their hard work and commitment.

I strongly believe the person at the front-line of an organisation - in our case CFA firefighters - is the most important person and everything the organisation does should be focused on supporting that man or woman.

Not one but two top honours were awarded to CFA last night at the prestigious 2010 Australian Safer Communities Awards.

CFA's Chief Executive Officer Mick Bourke accompanied Brodie Rafferty of CFA to take out the state government category for the Victorian Fire Risk Register (VFRR).

 

A big thankyou in advance to all of you who will participate in Fire Action Week this October.

At the time of writing, CFA is working hard with our partner fire agencies, government departments and the wider community to encourage all Victorians to prepare for the upcoming fire season.

 

The experiences I've gained during my involvement with many of the recent community consultations held by the State Government made it clear to me not only that participative democracy is alive and well, but how proud I am to work for CFA.

Relationship building and the importance of working together emerged as a major theme of the recent State Municipal Fire Prevention Forum, which was a fantastic learning and networking opportunity from all reports.

The 2009/2010 fire season has been one of hard work and significant change for CFA, and I think it's important for everyone to take a moment to reflect on what we've achieved.

A change in season brings with it a change in perspective.

When concentrating on the bushfire season we can be forgiven for focusing on the here and now, but of course work at CFA is not just seasonal, and as we approach the winter months we need to remain as ready as ever in dealing with new conditions and different challenges.

The days of businesses existing solely to turn a profit are now a lengthening shadow into the past. From multinational, billion dollar enterprises to locally owned and operated small businesses, we are now in an era when Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities are a critical feature of corporations both locally and abroad.

CSR refers to the practice of including the community's interests in corporate decision making. Often, it is associated with offsetting the environmental impacts of particular businesses' activities, but it can include a variety of corporate initiatives that ultimately benefit the public.

As the first anniversary of 7 February approaches, I'd like to take a moment to reflect on the events of not only that day, but the weeks leading up to it, particularly the fires in Gippsland, and the tremendous work CFA members have done in Black Saturday's aftermath.

While I wasn't with CFA last fire season, like so many other Australians I watched the events unfold with anguish and sorrow, but also with an overwhelming sense of pride in the response.

The fire season is well and truly upon us. There have been almost 4000 fires since the start of the season. We've had severe and extreme days, Total Fire Bans, Emergency Warnings and, of course, fires.

CFA crews have responded to incidents across our state and over the border. We've gone in early, hit fires hard and made sure any threat has been contained. And the coming week will no doubt challenge us again.