CFA Connect Blogosphere

 

Ok your invincible or at least you thought you were

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.

A new landscape is developing in the online world. When people log on to the internet now, they expect to be able to engage with corporations. Simply providing information without further means for discussion is no longer enough.

At CFA, we're embracing this new wave of online engagement; not because it's trendy, or it's fun to use the latest gadgets, but because it's what our community is demanding. Increasingly, our members, and the wider community, are relying on the online environment to find news, incident information and community safety advice from CFA. As a community service organisation with a diverse and geographically spread membership, we must listen and respond.

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.

I want to take a short detour from the business of the day to wish you all the best for the festive season and the coming New Year.

I've only been here a few months and I'm yet to see out my first summer, but I do feel like I'm beginning to understand what makes CFA tick. The veterans among you are probably tired of hearing that CFA is all about the people. I'm sure for many of you it's a well-worn cliché.