No Robert, I do understand - you used the MFB as example, proper help for them is minutes away not an hour plus.
Here is a real incident for you to ponder - MVA one male occupant, friends start CPR. Emergency services arrive - initial one under manned CFS, one SAPOL officer mean time more friends arrive (teenages & twenty odd year olds about 30 of them).
Rescue (undermanned) arrives with SAAS. Patient not responding (nil heartbeat, nil breathing)crowd getting anxious, additional rescue requested (crowd control as scene getting ugly), additional SAAS arrive to assist SAAS & rescue work on PT.
After 20 or so minutes work stopped, crowd gets very upset. Additional SAPOL arrive - total time elapsed about 35 - 40 minutes.
Now the SAAS Crew had all of the machines that go beep, vials of adrenaline, heaps of experience. Still to no avail!
So
1) as CFS does not cover the requirements of CERT, how would you have coped?
2)How long would you have worked on the guy? remember you don't have the machines.
3)What about his very angry mates?
I was very involved with this one (holding his arm while they pumped adrenaline into him, watching the machine & keeping an eye on my other crew member until another unit arrived), & I too have held the the PT body parts, Iv's, & other paraphernalia that SAAS work with on many occasions & believe that you would need to know more than basic life support.
Otherwise the public would have great expectations of what you can do, which would not be filled.
Therefore yes CFS needs senior firstaid for all members, maybe with an add on O2 AED module for self help, however if you want to be ambo's then IMHO you would need to do the CERT course with RPL for GRN & other modules if they match the SAAS requirement (after some of my dealings with CFS non rescue crews at messy MVA's stress management, manual handling & general OHS wouldn't be a bad idea either).
So Robert I do understand, just don't agree with you
cheers