SA Firefighter

Sooooo, what does the media section actually do then ?

Volunteer Magazine maybe? (Another shining light of CFS quality)

So why do we have to be re-paged by AF if we already receive the page anyway?

I believe some systems page the brigade and some only page Adelaide fire.  Once (or maybe a couple of times) Adelaide fire didn't realise that the brigade hadn't been paged, and it resulted in a delayed response.  Because of that they decided that they'd re-page all alarms.  (and yes, it creates a DIN for the job).

Sounds like it was for a patient lift...

I assumed it wasn't because of the SAAS AT LEAST 1HR thing...

but if CFS were sent to this job first up, you can help someone heaps by just doing your basic first aid...
Remember basic care DRABC and scene management
•   Make sure the patient is safe –eliminating dangers
•   Reassurance and basic psychological support
•   Posture the patient for comfort or splint
•   Temperature control - make sure the patient is kept warm
Ring SAAS/000 for further first aid support/advise/sitrep

Of course.  Thanks!

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Just to clarify, the Centurions do allow for auxiliary masks to be run, it's just that the CFS does't stow the fittings required.  Likewise you can also attach an external air supply to the sets, but we don't stow the fittings/hoses for that either.

... That dosen't help if you need to supply someone with air then.

No, it doesn't   (but it's a failure of the system, not the sets)

I find it ironic that there is alot of complaining about lack of training and yet, I keep getting questioned about my personal risk management by people who supposedly don't have the training or the SOP's that,

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cover it...

Maybe because they see you as someone who has been trained, and want to learn from you, so they ask you questions?

Is it not the responsibility of the Incident Controller to decide upon incident strategy?
Is it not the role of Safety Officers to take corrective actions where "personnel are taking unacceptable risks"?
Oh but of course all you highly experienced and far more knowledgeable types on this forum are much wiser.
ROFL

Some members of this forum are trying to have a serious discussion about urban fire fighting because they know the CFS training provided is inadequate.
If you're an experienced urban fire fighter, how about you contribute to the discussion positively, so that members on here can learn from your experience?  How about explaining what you would do as an incident controller, or describing what actions you would take after being entangled rather than saying "it's not hard, follow SOP"?

Snide, passive-aggressive remarks are not helpful, and will be removed from now on.

If you have something helpful to say, please contribute.  If you don't, feel free to read but don't post.

I'm at a loss for words.

Obviously there is something missing from your Command and Control at incidents and who is enforcing it.

Que?

Interesting tool. Do you know if it's used by any fire services?

It seems to be a good tool for what it's designed for, but I'm not sure how useful it would be in a fire service context (ie, would it get used enough to warrant stowing it on a truck?), so I'm not sure if fire and rescue suppliers would be interested in distributing it.  You might get more interest in industrial applications...

Fourth deployment of SA SES volunteers left yesterday for Far North Queensland.

Is that because of the fresh rains, or are they on clean up duty?

Scrap the brumby, I think the Combi Tool will fit in the boot of a 2 seat Smart Car! Just gotta get the charging stations installed about the response area...

I think you'd find that in Australia those "charging stations" are called "petrol stations" and you'd need to find one every 600 Km.



The added advantage of using a Smart car is you can use the car itself as a stabilisation block for anything bigger than a sedan!

I have heard some group officers are already cracking the sads, and writing nasty letters....mingers

What are they complaining about?  All I've heard are concerns about using CABA wear info as a basis for re-accreditation, and scorn over the change from Primary/Secondary to In/Out.

Its already proven useful for some members as things like wearing BA are going towards the re-accred time.

I think this a bad move.  Starting up a CABA set at an incident in no way proves that an operator is still a competent BA operator.  The purpose of an annual, (or 5 yearly), re-accreditation is to ensure BA operators are still donning and starting up correctly and still know the correct procedures for safety and equipment maintenance.  Do they really think a tick in a box on a fire reports proves an operator is competent and removes a need for them to be assessed?

I'm also curious about the definition of RCR and HAZMAT operators...
"HAZMAT OPERATOR - Actually used hazmat equipment at a hazmat incident".  So if I turn on the PID at a house fire, does that make me a Haz Op?
"RCR OPERATOR - Actually used RCR equipment at the incident". If I use a haligan to pop a bonnet at a car fire am I an RCR Op?  All seems a bit vague...

It will also be good to prove to some of our more useless members that they are tying up specialist spots when they continually shirk attending fire calls and training.

Can't you do that already from the fire reports you're already filling in?

Hmm....

I'm not entirely convinced that those people above us are doing the right thing by us. Why do we still not have access to ALL the AIRS codes? Why do we only get a select few that someone determines 'will be enough'?

Agreed - we have to make whatever incident we attended fit into the select few options they give us, rather than reporting what we actually attended.  But you have to admit, it does make it a lot easier!

For those complaining, stats are the best way to increase your funding... show the Govt. how much work we are actually doing. If we get stats to back us up we can actually achieve things! Get those false alarms reduced, have a solid argument as to why xyz Brigade needs xyz truck/specialisation/SFEC increase.

Again, haven't we been filling out fire reports for years?  Is the inclusion of some extra details about an alarm call really going to get us extra funding or cut down on false alarms?  You can already get the stats from the previous version of the forms - if it says we went to an alarm, it means it was an unwanted alarm, if it legit, we'd put it down as a fire...

As well as the mistakes Matt already pointed now, there seem to be quite a few other fields that are vague or confusing. 
For example,

Who is the "Officer in Charge"?

Does "Spare cylinders used" really mean spares used, or total used? 

"Charge code: Yes/No" How do we answer that? 

"Name of Brigade/Station/Unit who conducted Rescue".  What counts as the rescue?  If the RCR brigade cuts up the car, but then the local brigade carries the stretcher to the ambulance, is that a team effort? 

Or the fact you only get to choose one type of mobile property for an incident, but can enter details for 3 vehicles...

I'm also curios as to why lowercase and uppercase options are mixed.  Is there a difference between them?

Nope, don't remember East Torrens having one....   

Tea Tree Gully have a BBQ trailer, with an ice box.....   I think East Torrens might have grabbed it many years ago for a fire.... ?

Pip

Sounds like the one I remember, so that would be right!

Go read up. Missing more than 3 training sessions in a row, without written explaination is pretty much grounds to be turfed.

It's all there in the Regs, its nothing new.

Actually, I think you'll find the Regs talk about brigade meetings, not training nights...