SA Firefighter

why didnt you take the correct course and lodge OHS forms?


If you were was truly concerned about your unit and you wanted to do something then maybe accident/near miss forms would have been the way to go... something official.

i didnt know about them. i hadent been in the unit very long. nor been told wat to do in that situation. so for the first couple of times yes i honestly did let it go coz i was unsure.
least now i know.

This issue has been dealt with at unit level. The senior members brought this up at a committee meeting and it was both addressed and to our knowledge had finished. If the issue was continuing, why was the issue not brought back to attention? Considering present climate one might think its convenient that certain members have decided to start causing trouble.

If you choose not to inform your seniors of other issues at the time, then are you not also "cheating the system?" Not to mention circumventing the chain of command?

The financial reasons you mention are no different to any other emergency service unit in SA, sure it doesnt help that most of our budget is taken away by $22k of rent each year but hey, we have lasted the last 5+ years and will last longer still.

It should also be mentioned in light of recent events that you should be careful what kind of dirty laundry you air and where. Internet based comments can still be considered Libel.

Quote from: rescue5271 on September 25, 2007, 09:25:21 PM

Do you guys have a exit interview??

I beleive State HQ do call members for random exit interviews.

Quote from: 6793264 on September 26, 2007, 09:17:16 AM

I believe I know who you're talking about and well, yeah, it doesn't surprise me.

I think you are referring to the issues with the ex unit manager, who was somewhat infamous for his somewhat cowboy antics. The current UM has done nothing but improve the relationships that previous management destroyed with both the local CFS and other organisations in the area.

HA! fancy talking to you on here......
im not trying causing trouble.
 and i did bring it up again...but wat ya know...it got swept under the carpet. didnt surprise me.
ahwell... thats life.
oh and instead of sitting round complaing bout not gettin enough funds why woudnt the unit listen to anyones fundraising ideas. i know another brigade that did a BBQ and raised $700!!!! wasnt hard 4 ppl, for a matter of 4 hours. and there was ppl adel hills unit wiling to do that. but it never got the okay, wen i suggested it.
 

Do you guys have a exit interview?? if so bring it up then and they will wont to know who why and where.......If this is going on then there needs to be someone will balls who is willing to say something..... what would have happended if someone got hurt and they where not wearing the correct PPE??? and where was the unit manager while all this was going on..........

YOU know wat .............it was the unit manager that was not wearing the PPE, and we stoped him and told him.........and his reply "i dont need to, i have 35 years expereince behind me, i know what to  do".
anyway the real worry is the other issues. oh and no to the exit interview, as far as i know.
so u rekon i should say something anyway?

Out of curiosity, what training do SES members have in tree falling?

In my area, (and I think across the state) CFS will not put people through the tree falling course (which I think is about an 80 hour course)...

Pip

well the courses that the ses do in the area of this discussion, is chainsaw course (weekend course) and storm damage, but thats not really involved with the tree comes in handy for  fallen on a house that sorta stuff.

so basically the ses have the smae training as the cfs in this situation.
there are some taskings that you role up and wonder why you are there but like some one else said the person to greet you, is eardly, greets with a smile and even a piece of cake. and they are just so happy for you to leave the branches on their property, so long as their house is safe.
it does make you feel good to know you have helped. but the cfs would have been able to do the same job. with a ladder and chainsaw!

i rekon the new 'paint job' as such is good. saw them at the show. with the light on its very high vis. much beer during all hours of the day. apparently the lights r different on the front aswell, but i got told that anyone else hear anything bout them?

Well you can move your horse around anywhere within SA without permission, but gatherings require a permit. But if I owned a horse I wouldn't be taking it to meet other horses anyway just incase!

this is till pretty serious in s.a its true gatherings need a permit and also travelling around sa does aswell. most of the events for the next 6 months have been cancelled including the international event -which was the olympic selection event.
but yeh most people arent taking their horses anywhere not for lessons or clinics incase of an outbreak. its ugly stuff.

Quote

I found it interesting the ex unit manager's (David Chatwin) comment that they seem to be a glorified gardening service (referring to the number of trees down calls) rather than a real rescue service.  I think he's quite right (as an outsider to the SES) but that seems to be what the SES heirarchy want.

As a member of the SES, thats just something we do.. We are the lead agency for storm and flood, storms cause trees to fall so we cut up trees. But I do understand the statement to an extent. It is frustrating to arrive at a Tree Down job that is something you would compare to a twig, that is blocking a persons driveway, where it could have easily been dragged out of the way...

The article goes on to say

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All we seem to do at the moment is cut up trees and that's not why I joined the SES

The SES is a real rescue service, but the rescue's we specialise in come up rarely (Vertical, Land Search, Structural Collapse). Yes, it is hard to keep people interested when all they do is sandbag and remove trees, especially when they have been doing it for a number of years. And we have been doing a lot of these recently.. The aim is to become an expert in these rescue skills so that when the day comes and a person has fallen to the bottom of a cliff, or you have a structure collapse with persons trapped, you can perform the rescues swiftly and safely.

Hopefully the unit keeps going strong and can move on from the problems of the past..

OKAY im in the unit, and this has to be said.
Yeh we are a free glorified gardening service. and it is dissapointing getting to a 'whole tree' over drive way to get out and fine something that is dragged of by 1 member. and a lot of ppl say they do other things, not just tree jobs. but honestly it isnt like thta at all. we do tree jobs. ocassionally we mite get something else but we never get to the other job because of the responce time. i mean other units have RCR responce BUT why would state want to give the unit RCR when we have a responce time of on a good day 20 mins on a bad day 40 mins. i dont blame them and i can see that.
so you may ask well why still be iin the unit!??
FOR ONE REASON. some people in the community cant do the job themselves. they need help and we are the ones who are generous enough to help in a time of crisis.
but on saying this, most are in CFS aswell so its not like we only do tree jobs, thats just more a winter thing.