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VFBV News (201)
Update: Listening Sets and Analogue Radio Channel Shutdowns
The long awaited CFA-approved digital listening sets/scanners for Brigades are not far away. CFA has chosen the successful unit and completed contract negotiations with the supplier.
CFA and VFBV are discussing the distribution of subsidised sets to Brigades, and should announce details in the next two weeks.
The unit has passed CFA technical evaluation and the volunteers who field tested it have given it the thumbs up.
The listening set has a large range of options, and the manufacturer has agreed to the volunteers’ request to supply it pre-configured with settings to suit CFA Brigades’ needs.
Having successfully had volunteers included in the field trials, VFBV has pressed for every Brigade to be offered an equal, guaranteed number of subsidised sets, with any sets not taken up to be equally redistributed to Brigades that want them.
The program is expected to be in full swing well before summer, and VFBV has offered to assist with logistics to ensure no Brigade is disadvantaged by remoteness or lack of access to electronic ordering.
We will post the announcement on the VFBV website as soon as it is available.
ANALOGUE CHANNEL SHUTDOWNS
The VFBV/CFA Joint Communications and Technology Committee has become aware that CFA is shutting down an increasing number of analogue radio channels, despite an agreement that it would not decommission analogue services until the new digital listening sets were available.
The Committee has expressed its frustration to CFA that the shutdowns have gone ahead. CFA representatives have explained that the analogue shutdowns where operationally required to provide increased digital capacity in the network, and did not go ahead without District Operations Managers’ approval.
CFA has told the Joint Committee that it was the OM’s responsibility to conduct local consultation before approving any shutdown. Should your Brigade have concerns, you should proactively discuss the issue with your OM before they approve any local Shutdown.
The subsidised distribution of digital listening sets should be announced within the next two weeks. In the meantime, CFA regional radio dispatch traffic is available online using the free website Broadcastify. This web streaming service allows you to receive radio comms via your computer, smart phone or tablet.
To hear CFA traffic, go to www.broadcastify.com/listen/stid/152 and select your region. Anyone listening via their mobile phone should keep track of their data usage to avoid exceeding their monthly data limit.
Cancer Law Battle in Queensland
With presumptive legislation at the committee stage in the Queensland Parliament, Queensland’s Labor Government is now trying to introduce a discriminatory extra eligibility requirement for volunteers.
With a private member’s Bill already proposing presumptive legislation that treats career and volunteer firefighters alike, the Queensland Government has introduced a Bill of its own that would introduce a discriminatory clause that only applies to volunteers and would require volunteers with cancer to have a minimum of 150 “exposure incidents” before they can qualify for presumptive compensation.
South Australian volunteers have already fought and won the battle against legislation requiring volunteers to have arbitrary numbers of turnouts, and the Queensland volunteers are gearing up to do the same, making sure Queensland Government MPs know exactly how they feel.
See the Queensland volunteers’ latest bulletin with their call to action.
Auxiliary and Support Group Conference cancelled
The VFBV Auxiliary & Support Group Conference, originally scheduled for 8 August, has now been cancelled.
If you have any enquiries, call VFBV on (03) 9886 1141.
2015 VFBV Volunteer Welfare & Efficiency Survey
Click here to take The 2015 VFBV Volunteer Welfare & Efficiency Survey
Click here to learn more about the annual survey
Talk to other volunteers in your Brigade about taking part - More participants means greater influence for the survey results when we take them to CFA, the Emergency Management Commissioner and the State Government.
The survey is open until 31 August 2015.
You can see the 2014 results by clicking here
This year, VICSES volunteers have their own survey, hosted by VFBV on behalf of VESA – VICSES volunteers can click here to take part or find out more here.
Cold Climate Jackets
VFBV has been working with CFA’s State PPE&C Management Centre over the past year to develop a suitable additional jacket as an alternative to provide relief from cold and inclement weather.
With the withdrawal of the black woollen jackets from service, volunteer delegates identified that in cold climatic conditions across Victoria, predominantly where members are not issued with Structural PPC, the current Bushfire PPC jacket does not provide sufficient warmth during situations such as road accident rescue, storm events and other non-firefighting applications.
As bushfire PPC is inherently light weight to minimise the risk of metabolic heat build-up in the body, the challenge has been to design a garment to provide relief from cold and inclement weather, whilst providing good levels of day and night visibility, along with limited protection from heat and flame.
This jacket is not intended to replace bushfire PPC, and is not to be used for firefighting purposes, but may be used for other fireground or brigade activity where weather conditions and work load allow.
The prototype jackets are now being field tested, with four jackets provided to every CFA district.
The trial will go for 12 weeks, and District Offices have been asked to make the garments available to interested individuals that are willing to trial the jackets.
Districts have been asked to prioritise members who do not currently have access to structural PPC, are located in Brigades that best meet the intent of the trial (cold climate), are relatively active and willing to provide documented feedback. If you are interested in trialling the jacket, please make contact with your Operations Manager/Operations Officer for further information.
Fiskville Inquiry - Interim Report Released
Just released: The Interim Report from the Parliamentary Inquiry into the CFA Training College at Fiskville is available for download below
NOTES FROM THE STATE COUNCIL DISCUSSION BEFORE VFBV’S PRESENTATION TO THE PARLIAMENTARY INQUIRY ON 15 JUNE 2015
The Victorian Parliament’s Inquiry into the CFA Training College at Fiskville has the potential to affect far more than the future of the Fiskville site.
VFBV has provided a written submission and more than an hour of evidence and we have been invited to provide additional information in a second written submission.
The issues to be presented to the Parliamentary Committee were workshopped at the VFBV State Council on 13 June. The State Council determined that the key points to be presented to the Inquiry hearing were;
The safety of our members and support to any members who have been exposed in the past is paramount and should remain the primary concern.
The Committee must ensure the focus remains on safety of our members and support to any members, whether exposed in the past during training or at fire incidents, or members who may be exposed in the future.
Firefighters, paid and volunteer alike, need access to the best possible training and the most real-to-life training. If Fiskville operations are to be closed for rectification works, scaled back or ceased altogether, then the resulting gap in Victoria’s training capacity must be fixed immediately.
If this requires funding for improvements, alternative interim training facilities, or new facilities, then this must not only be a recommendation of the Committee it must also be backed by a firm funding commitment from all sides of politics.
Just as being safe whilst training is paramount, there is a huge risk to firefighters when they are confronted with real life situations if they haven’t had access to appropriate real-to-life training.
The Inquiry process must work to establish a level of confidence amongst firefighters, the community, the Government and the firefighters’ representatives, about the facts. There has been a lot of discussion of what is or isn’t safe, and what can or can’t be fixed. Our members need the Committee to ensure the facts are on the table, that the opinions and assessments of the independent experts are known, and the analysis, decisions and regime going forward are transparent and beyond partiality or self-interest groups.
Having spoken with volunteers across Victoria, we believe it is of utmost importance that the Inquiry must unbundle the issues;
- Past versus present
- Which problems have ceased or been fixed
- Which current problems can be fixed
- Which current problems require further solutions or warrant cessation of use
- If there is a need for cessation of use;
o Is it for all uses
o Is it forever
o Is it until the results of the remaining independent expert examination
Decisions about the future must also represent a sensible use of public money; funds already invested in the site, money that must be spent regardless of whether Fiskville continues to operate or not, and the cost of new facilities or new water treatment regimes. Compromising safety is unacceptable; compromising access to training is unacceptable; and any waste of scarce funding is likely to be met with equally severe criticism.
The importance of the real-to-life training undertaken at Fiskville over the years cannot be overstated; not just hot fire training but the full range of state level and specialised skills in incident management, incident leadership, operational decision making and real-to-life operational exercises.
Much of this requires multi-day and live in courses. The live-in experience and relationship building experiences are fundamental to the preparation required for firefighters to battle major emergencies.
Also of vital importance is access; the availability of training at a time and place, and in a format that suits members. We must fill the gap in local and state level training capacity left by any cessation at Fiskville, including in the interim until permanent solutions can be put in place. And while there is discussion of fixing Fiskville, we must also stress the importance of investment in training not just at Fiskville but at all CFA training facilities, and in the context of growing demand in future.
It is important that the Fiskville Inquiry gives careful consideration to the feasibility and cost effectiveness of all options, with no compromise on safety.
From the beginning, volunteers have asked for expert, independent, transparent and accountable analysis of decisions, and the Parliamentary Committee’s Fiskville Inquiry gives us the opportunity to ensure decisions, messages and treatment are based on facts, established independently by experts, in a properly transparent process.
It is also important that the Parliamentary Committee gives our members clarity, based on expert and independent analysis and facts, about the issues surrounding PFCs, PFOS and what is necessary to ensure safe water quality standards.
It is important to set clear standards and gain the support of Government and sufficient funding to establish this level of treatment and controls to ensure the cost of training, just as it shouldn’t jeopardise the safety of trainees, doesn’t jeopardise the accessibility of state of the art training. This may require a link to the full site audit currently underway before any final decisions – particularly any decisions along the lines of a permanent closure of Fiskville.
Fiskville is, of course, just a part of the big picture on training and maintaining the skills of our volunteer-based CFA and of ensuring the safety and wellbeing of its members, both paid and volunteer, and VFBV is alarmed at the continued delay in the introduction of presumptive cancer compensation legislation for Victoria’s firefighters.
Moving forward, we need;
- Independent assurance of safety, based on facts
- Informed decisions on any options for rehabilitating, fixing and reopening Fiskville
- Protection of firefighters, not just during training
- Empowerment and support to CFA to address training based on need, not capped artificially based on budget
- Removing the rumour, speculation and uncertainty, and making decisions on independent, expert analysis of the facts
Ends….
Queensland Joins Other States on Firefighter Cancer Laws - Still Waiting For Victoria
VFBV MEDIA RELEASE - 9 June 2015
CFA Volunteers are watching with considerable interest as the Queensland Parliament begins the process to enact a law which gives all firefighters in Queensland - paid and volunteer - fairer cancer compensation rights.
Presumptive legislation now being enacted in most States except Victoria, works by reversing the onus of proof; the firefighter’s cancer would be presumed to be work related provided the firefighter has sufficient years of service. The claim could still be rejected if it could be proven the cancer was not related to firefighting duties.
Volunteer Fire Brigades Victoria CEO Andrew Ford said the legislation is not about a new entitlement, it is about removing an unfair barrier that blocks sick firefighters from receiving the cancer compensation to which they are entitled.
“It’s just a reversal of the onus of proof. Until now, Queensland firefighters have faced the same unfair barrier as Victorian firefighters; the near impossible task of providing sufficient evidence to prove the cause of the cancer arose from particular fires, incidents or other work duties - events that might have happened 10, 15 or more years ago,” Mr Ford said.
“The Queensland presumptive legislation is the fairer and simpler cancer compensation law that Victoria’s CFA volunteers have been promised, and are still waiting to see,” he said.
“Queensland is joining South Australia, the Northern Territory, Western Australia and Tasmania, in moving to take away the unfair barrier that stops firefighters from accessing compensation when they suffer typical firefighter cancers,” he said.
The Bill now before the Queensland Parliament specifically provides that there will be no discrimination between paid and volunteer firefighters, under the new cancer compensation rights. The Queensland Bill lists the same 12 cancers and minimum lengths of service required to qualify as are standard under the laws adopted by the Commonwealth and most Australian States and Territories, but not Victoria as yet.
The Queensland Bill is what the current Victorian Labor Government promised Victorian firefighters in the lead up to the last election – it uses the same list of 12 cancers and the same years of service requirements as the current law in Tasmania, but without any additional eligibility hurdles that discriminate against volunteers.
“Current Tasmanian law includes additional discriminatory requirements that must be met by their volunteer firefighters, but thankfully these were not part of Victorian Labor’s commitment to CFA volunteers,” Mr Ford said.
“South Australia had similar discriminatory requirements in their original legislation but have now deleted them and given volunteers the same eligibility requirements as the paid firefighters who work alongside them,” he said.
“We are hopeful that the Victorian Government will be in a position to announce details to support their promise at last year’s election, in the very near future,” Mr Ford said.
CFA volunteers who have contracted cancer currently face the difficulty that as volunteers they have no firefighter sick leave or superannuation to fall back on. Victorian law leaves all firefighters, career and volunteer alike, battling red tape and sometimes a long legal battle just to get a fair hearing, whilst they are forced to prove which fires or incidents might have caused their cancer.
It is nearly impossible to meet the standard of proof required by current Victorian law, just as it was under the laws that other States have replaced with fairer presumptive legislation for firefighters with cancer.
“After years of procrastination by the previous Victorian Government on presumptive cancer compensation rights for Victorian volunteer and career firefighters, Labor promised presumptive legislation just like the law that Queensland is now enacting,” Mr Ford said.
“For our CFA volunteer members suffering from work related cancer, the implementation of this Labor promise can’t come fast enough,” he said.
Ends…
9th State Auxiliary & Support Group Conference
Representatives of all Brigade Auxiliaries and Support Groups to are invited to attend the 9th State Conference at Tabcorp Park, 2 Ferris Road, Melton South on Saturday, 8 August 2015.
The Conference starts at 10 am (Tea and coffee will be available from 9 am).
Whilst the Conference Agenda has not been finalised, the following presentations are proposed:
- Ms Claire Higgins, CFA Chair
- Ms Christine Nixon
- Ms Kate Harrap, Acting Executive Director, Operational Training & Volunteerism
- Ms Toni van Hamond, Assistant Director, National Disability Insurance Scheme
- Open Forum
A flyer and RSVP form have been sent to Auxiliaries and Support Groups – for more information, or to have your Auxiliary or Group added to the mailing list, please contact Jenni Laing at the VFBV office on 03 9886 1141 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Driver Training
VicRoads has tentatively committed to changes to its licensing arrangements that should make it easier to train and assess CFA volunteers.
The decision includes changes to the driver training course to incorporate a section on load securing that would potentially halve the licence test time for volunteers.
Further changes could lead to CFA conducting the licence testing. CFA will investigate these options and determine a phased approach to improving driver training and testing for members.
The VFBV/CFA Joint Training Committee delegates see this as a positive and asked CFA to move forward with improving the process so that more CFA volunteers can access driver training and assessment.
EMR Expansion
Since the State Government announcement of the extension of Emergency Medical Response (EMR) to all CFA integrated stations, a number of additional volunteer Brigades have expressed interest in providing EMR and wanted to know how they can become involved.
Interest is strongest in country areas where ambulance services are stretched or needing support, and VFBV has advised the State Government that EMR would be very welcome in areas where the primary agency, Ambulance Victoria, identifies the need and local Brigades have the willingness and the capacity to deliver the service.
The introduction of EMR service in volunteer Brigades is extremely cost efficient, with equipment costs of around $15,000 per Brigade.
Volunteers were pioneers of EMR in CFA, with five volunteer Brigades starting an EMR pilot in 2008. Since then, those Brigades at Berwick, Edithvale, Mornington, South Morang and Whittlesea have shown the extra skills are not only lifesaving at EMR jobs but are also useful at road accidents and rescue calls.
Brigades that feel EMR would be beneficial in their area and within their capacity to deliver, should contact VFBV. Several Brigades are already actively in discussion with their community and local MPs.
More...
Pager Warning
The VFBV/CFA Joint Communications and Technology Committee is warning members not to rely solely on third party notification providers via their smart phones instead of using their CFA issued pagers.
This follows a report to the Committee that some members are handing in pagers in favour of smart phone apps. The Committee warns that the app providers are not officially supported by the agencies and can remove their service at any time, so they are not a safe way of receiving an alert, even if their coverage or feature set is superior to the current CFA pager.
VFBV has been highly critical of the existing pager that was selected by a multi-agency group several years ago, CFA’s pager contract is due to expire next year and VFBV continues to advocate for the need to urgently address possible designs and feature sets for the next generation pagers, including two way communications ability.
The Committee has called for CFA to include Emergency Management Victoria (EMV) in early discussions, to investigate future pager options and ensure mistakes of the past are not made on the selection of the next generation paging device.
This item is from the VFBV/CFA Joint Communications Committee 2 Minute Briefing - to see more items from the Joint Committees, go to the VFBV website's front page and scroll down to the Joint Committee area.
CFA Volunteer Strategy Endorsed
The CFA Volunteer Strategy has now been endorsed by the CFA Board, and the VFBV/CFA Joint Volunteerism Committee encourages you to read it (see below to download a copy).
The Strategy lays foundations for how everyone in CFA will work towards ensuring the future capability of community based volunteer emergency services remains strong, whilst encouraging, maintaining and strengthening the capacity of volunteers to deliver CFA services.
VFBV has renewed its request for CFA to prepare an implementation strategy, and Joint Committee delegates have emphasised the importance of using the Chief Officer’s Chain of Command to inform and deliver the implementation down to the District level. CFA has advised work on implementation plans is progressing, with plans due to be signed off by June 30. The Strategy is available for download below.
Budget a Mixed Bag but Truck Funding is Needed and Welcome
VFBV MEDIA RELEASE - Friday, 8 May 2015
BUDGET A MIXED BAG BUT TRUCK FUNDING IS NEEDED AND WELCOME – CFA VOLUNTEERS
CFA volunteers say the State Budget’s $33.5 million for new fire trucks is needed and welcome, and the $1 million allocation to continue the program of providing amenities at all rural fire stations will be very welcome at those Brigades that don’t currently have toilets.
Volunteer Fire Brigades Victoria (VFBV) CEO Andrew Ford says the truck funding announcement is an encouraging sign the State Government is hearing the concerns that volunteers have raised over CFA’s ageing fleet of front line fire and rescue vehicles.
“There are hundreds of CFA trucks over the nationally accepted age limit of 20 years that are still in use as first response emergency vehicles, and VFBV’s research shows it will take around $30 million a year to gradually bring the fleet up to accepted standards,” Mr Ford said.
“The State Budget’s allocation of $33.5 million for 70 new fire trucks funded in the 2015/16 year is a good start; now it’s important to work towards an ongoing funding commitment and a rolling five year fleet replacement plan that gradually brings the CFA fleet under the 20 year age limit,” he said.
“While CFA’s older trucks are well maintained, they don’t have the speed, handling, crew safety and bigger firefighting capacity of newer trucks – a younger fleet will benefit volunteers and the communities they protect.”
“This year’s budget funding for trucks is a welcome acknowledgement of the volunteers’ concerns, and VFBV will continue to work with the Government on this important issue,” Mr Ford said.
On other fronts, there is some welcome funding but well short of what is needed, particularly considering the urgent need to replace the large scale training capacity lost with the closure of CFA’s Fiskville Training College. The State Budget has allocated $300,000 for planning of a new local CFA training facility near Ballan.
“It is vital that Fiskville’s training facilities and capacity be replaced as soon as possible, and volunteers are concerned that the State Budget did not include strong measures to achieve that,” Mr Ford said.
“Fiskville has had a critically important role in CFA’s network of facilities, training local Brigades in that part of Victoria and providing live-in training and specialist programs for CFA personnel from all over the state,” he said.
“There must be serious and immediate attention paid to meeting the training needs of CFA’s tens of thousands of firefighters,” Mr Ford said.
VFBV has also welcomed the expansion of the Emergency Medical Response (EMR) program to all integrated, staff/volunteer CFA Brigades, but is concerned the funding in the Budget is not enough.
“The funding allocated is certainly not sufficient to train and equip all of the state’s 33 integrated, staff/volunteer Brigades to deliver EMR,” Mr Ford said.
“And there is still no mention of funding to continue implementing EMR in more volunteer Brigades,” he said.
CFA Brigades, including five all-volunteer Brigades, have been providing EMR since 2008 and have saved a number of heart attack victims by dispatching specially trained crews who provide CPR in the vital first minutes until paramedics arrive.
“VFBV welcomes the expansion of EMR so far, but will continue to work with the Government to encourage funding for its introduction to more volunteer Brigades, particularly in country areas where the ambulance service is stretched or needing support,” Mr Ford said.
Ends…
Background information on EMR:
Emergency Medical Response (EMR) was first introduced in 2008 as a pilot program involving five volunteer Brigades, with five integrated, staff/volunteer Brigades joining the program later.
EMR Brigades are specially trained and equipped to deal with heart attack patients and use their shorter response times to begin CPR in the vital minutes before the ambulance arrives and paramedics take over.
The program has resulted in increased survival rates for heart attack victims in areas where Brigades provide EMR.
2014 VFBV Volunteer Welfare & Efficiency Survey
The report on the 2014 VFBV Volunteer Welfare and Efficiency Survey is now available - you can read it online here or download it below.
We encourage volunteers to read the report, and to register for the 2015 survey now (see below, the survey starts in July).
This annual survey looks at trends in volunteer opinion, and would not have been possible without the more than 1,600 CFA volunteers who took part in 2014.
The survey began in 2012 and is put to work as a productive tool by both VFBV and CFA. This year’s results once again confirm some strong trends that are clear pointers to paths for improvement by CFA.
VFBV will soon run several Drill Down Workshops with groups of volunteers, looking at the outcomes, the causes and possible courses of action. To add your comments, talk to your District’s VFBV Delegates or call Cliff Overton at the VFBV office on (03) 9886 1141.
Please encourage your Brigade members to sign up for the 2015 survey - send your name, district and email address to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and you will receive an invitation by email. Call (03) 9886 1141 if you require a printed copy of the survey by regular mail.
You can read the full report on the 2014 survey here or download a PDF copy below.
You can sign up for the 2015 survey here.
