SA Firefighter
General Discussion => Country Fire Service => Topic started by: sacfs_res on March 27, 2014, 10:20:36 PM
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Saw a pager msg the other day on scanner from Mt Barker Info saying that the appliance is unusable and the RCR is stowed on the 24 and the rest chucked on the 34P - followed by "Replacement appliance coming soon???" Anybody know the cause of the rescue's step-down? Seems Barkers' appliances always having problems.
A $1m Scania or Volvo on the way? :-D That's what's needed with the high urban development risk there. :wink:
Or perhaps they'll get a NZFRS Iveco Eurocargo 750 gpm pump?
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I believe the rescue pump is just off for repairs, not decommissioned. There is currently a SAMFS Scania pump in their station replacing it.
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Yep just some issues with the pump, due to the awesome CFS maintenance program some parts failed, due to no fault of the operator. The CFS offered a 1990 rural 24 to replace it, clearly not up to the role it was intended, and meant there was no stowage available for the RCR gear and BA sets. CFS doesn't have the capacity, or the interest in making sure there is suitable appliances to cover the shortfall, you can't have a station like that without an appliance for several weeks. There is no replacement or upgraded appliance on the way, there is no forward planning. The MFS appliance was to get them out of a pickle for the month the other truck was offline.
The appliances don't break down that much, they get used, and fall apart. Remember people, cheapest bidder.
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http://www.barkerfire.com/index.php (http://www.barkerfire.com/index.php)
Some pics with the MFS Scania pump....
Just needs to be painted white + put CFS checkering on and logo :-D
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Yep just some issues with the pump, due to the awesome CFS maintenance program some parts failed, due to no fault of the operator. The CFS offered a 1990 rural 24 to replace it, clearly not up to the role it was intended, and meant there was no stowage available for the RCR gear and BA sets. CFS doesn't have the capacity, or the interest in making sure there is suitable appliances to cover the shortfall, you can't have a station like that without an appliance for several weeks. There is no replacement or upgraded appliance on the way, there is no forward planning. The MFS appliance was to get them out of a pickle for the month the other truck was offline.
The appliances don't break down that much, they get used, and fall apart. Remember people, cheapest bidder.
Why can't they get some Scanias in and get them built by Liquip or Fraser?? At least start getting one or 2/yr in the appliance program and distribute them to urban fringe brigades. Seaford should get one as it use to have the old Dennis not a 34P.
Mt Barker definitely deserves a Scania or a Volvo. Perhaps something like Burnside's.
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The Dennis was purchased for Mt Barker but was full of faults and was always breaking down, it injured several members when the windscreen exploded on the freeway, it was repalaced with a temporary 34P, that was in 2008. CFS have advised there is no issue and that is the end of it.
Be interesting to see what the future holds.
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Have a MFS appliance up there now, just need the MFS station and everything will be how it should be.
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Amen to that, Its time.
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Amen to that, Its time.
Is that what the Mt Barker crew want (to be taken over by MFS)?
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Only time well tell, but you might be onto something
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Amen to that, Its time.
Is that what the Mt Barker crew want (to be taken over by MFS)?
They wont have a choice...
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Having MFS there won't really help the problem.
Just some more spending of money that the government doesn't have. If CFS can't get the funding for a new heavy pumper, what hope is there for MFS to get two pumps there + the extravagant station and the salary for the full-time crew of 6. Much cheaper to buy Mt Barker a pumper crewed by vollies who are quite capable of offering the same service. The incident rate is too low anyway to have a full-time bunch of MFS guys crewing the station doing practically nothing all day. What a waste of money.
Mt Barker should at least get an Iveco like Morphett Vale and Naracoorte. Isn't Fraser building any more?
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Mt Barker currently have a medium pumper, and apart from being offline at the moment is more suited to the job as i believe it has more stowage space than the ivecos...
I also believe that it wont be a full time station... Yet... it will become retained and from what i hear around the traps its being welcomed by the crew.
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Having MFS there won't really help the problem.
Just some more spending of money that the government doesn't have. If CFS can't get the funding for a new heavy pumper, what hope is there for MFS to get two pumps there + the extravagant station and the salary for the full-time crew of 6. Much cheaper to buy Mt Barker a pumper crewed by vollies who are quite capable of offering the same service. The incident rate is too low anyway to have a full-time bunch of MFS guys crewing the station doing practically nothing all day. What a waste of money.
I don't profess to know anything about the situation in Mt Barker, however, if you look at stats for CFS & MFS, you will find some full time metro MFS station who do less calls than CFS stations. So I don't think that is an argument to base not having a MFS station there
Pip
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Only time well tell, but you might be onto something
I thought so. Believe the set-up might be retained MFS station, with 2 pumps (1 RCR) plus one of the little ROSA (rural) trucks.
Just what I have heard, and we all know how reliable rumours are......not!!!
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Nothing is confirmed at all yet. But it has been asked for, not forced. I think its a good move, thinking about the community not themselves. The form in which it will take has not been decided either, could be no change, could end up 24/7.
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Does the proposal involve MFS taking over existing CFS Station or a new station?
Also, what about membership numbers? Correct me if I am wrong, but isn't it 8 members per appliance for a retained MFS station?
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Having MFS there won't really help the problem.
Just some more spending of money that the government doesn't have. If CFS can't get the funding for a new heavy pumper, what hope is there for MFS to get two pumps there + the extravagant station and the salary for the full-time crew of 6. Much cheaper to buy Mt Barker a pumper crewed by vollies who are quite capable of offering the same service. The incident rate is too low anyway to have a full-time bunch of MFS guys crewing the station doing practically nothing all day. What a waste of money.
Mt Barker should at least get an Iveco like Morphett Vale and Naracoorte. Isn't Fraser building any more?
Speaking of money wasting, a little off topic but, Hynam received a new 34P... No offence intended for the good folk of that brigade but... A new 34P with 4 BA sets in a brigade that averages about 8 calls a year, really CFS...? If the state government want to look at cost savings in the emergency services sector, perhaps they can start with the fleet management of the CFS. How about new trucks to busy brigades then, run in, well looked after trucks rotated out of the busy brigades and sent to the 10 call a year stations. Sorry, beating the dead horse.
As for the MFS perhaps wanting to create a continuitus red truck corridor in the increasingly populated communities along the SE Freeway between Adelaide and Murray Bridge, what a revolutionary, forward thinking idea, how refreshing it is. Are we surprised brigades might want out of the CFS system if there is a chance.
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remembering of course that at red truck is great on the freeway....but the vast majority of their patch is a red truck no go area.....and four people in a scania isn't a valid replacement for 12 people in two 34/24 appliances from Brigades who have little problem getting appliances out the door.
Now if you wanted to create one fire service and combined stations.....THEN some more of us would be interested
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So you are fully aware of all the details of what is going on there Mr Teddy?
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remembering of course that at red truck is great on the freeway....but the vast majority of their patch is a red truck no go area.....
Barker, Stirling and Burnside rescues are all 2WD.
and four people in a scania isn't a valid replacement for 12 people in two 34/24 appliances from Brigades who have little problem getting appliances out the door.
Some might argue that a turnout guaranteeing 4 trained RCR operators per appliance with full niner stowage is more useful that a crew of 6 whose training may or may not include RCR and whose truck may only have "standard stowage".
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And nothing stopping the Mets painting a 34 Red. There are already a few red 4x4 rural's around. Crews can also be bolstered by retained ff's, depending on the make up of the station crewing.
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And nothing stopping the Mets painting a 34 Red. There are already a few red 4x4 rural's around. Crews can also be bolstered by retained ff's, depending on the make up of the station crewing.
MFS rural trucks are nothing like CFS ones. A lot Smaller chassis, less water (1500L), no crew deck. I'm referring to the "8" 4WD pumpers they have. This is where CFS really take the lead in rural firefighting...
Even the ROSAs are nothing like the real CFS 14 appliances
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It comes down to core business. As I'm sure we all know, majority of callous in these areas are urban in nature. Plenty of brigades in surrounding townships to handle the 4x4 work, leave the red trucks for asset protection. The CFS don't seem to be too interested in urban firefighting despite the best efforts of some. Let them "take the lead" in the rural firefighting.
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Rural is a small percentage of their workload these days, most of the rural is out of area back up, so take it back to the primary area and its bugger all.
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As the Adelaide metropolitan area expands, things change.
Salisbury and Seaford are CFS stations that have changed.
Personally, I think Dalkeith & Mt Barker will change in a few years as well.
On the other side, MFS retained at Peterborough, Wallaroo, etc could change as well.
my personal opinion only
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As the Adelaide metropolitan area expands, things change.
Salisbury and Seaford are CFS stations that have changed.
Personally, I think Dalkeith & Mt Barker will change in a few years as well.
On the other side, MFS retained at Peterborough, Wallaroo, etc could change as well.
my personal opinion only
What changes do you think?
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Its ok we will all be one big happy family soon
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You think it will happen? I think it may work and may be a good idea but what is the realistic approach of changing it all, its a big step.
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Save money and make changing things easier, for example, Kapunda, all 3 services in one town, is it really warranted no, but can't be changed easier as 3 different services are involved. Mount Barker for example, needs to change to MFS but is hard to do as CFS have to agree to hang it over. One service means you just do it.
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It won't happen over night but yes places like Mount Barker and Nurioopta where a fully time crew would be beneficial backed up by volunteers for the large incidents that require numbers on the ground e.g. Bushfires, floods, earthquakes, large structure or hazmat incidents. People who say volunteers and career crews together under one roof doesn't work may need an ego check, it does work if everyone works as a team and if the extras like training, equipment, admin are looked after by the career crews but yet career crews are their training and trying to interact with the volunteers the one service system works.
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Its ok we will all be one big happy family soon
Consolidation of CFS and SES to a single Volunteer Fire & Rescue Service makes a lot of sense (IMO). More difficult when you try to merge un-paid and paid services into one, but not impossible.
Viability of some country retained MFS stations and some metro SES Units could be questioned.
Anyway, I'll believe it when I see it... similar rumours have been floating around for many years and nothings ever come of them.
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Isn't the CFSVA on a current roadshow around the state presenting what possible ideas are being put forward to combine the emergency services??
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The whole fire and rescue model in South Australia is broken. You have the UFU, CFSVA and individual CFS groups and brigades all pushing their own agenda's mixed in with the overriding governance from management of the CFS, MFS and SAFECOM.
Wouldn't it be a perfect world where the red and white appliance boundary was dissolved and resources were utilised more efficiently without red trucks passing white sitting in stations and vice versa.
Response statistics provided in Annual Reports show paid stations have been built servicing areas that go to less incidents than some of their neighbouring volunteer brigades as well as retained brigades going to less incidents than volunteer brigades. Why not have a model that can be changed to provide the best level of service to the community that is based on sound strategic, tactical and budgetary foundations for the community of South Australia. In a perfect world every station would be paid, but would that be economically viable, we all know the answer!
For example the station is volunteer the level of response gets to a point were it is higher then you make it retained to provide those fire fighters with remuneration for their services and when it gets to a point where it becomes too onerous then it becomes paid. That way you could have this mix across the whole state even in the ever increasing urban sprawl. Maybe even one service then we could look at utilising services better in management, training, engineering, fire safety (educational programs) and other services provided to the public instead of duplicating services. Also look at the way fire stations are constructed and costed so we are not rebuilding stations or relocating so often in the suburbs with high price tags!
Probably never happen in my life time and just my thoughts!
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Watch this space, sooner than you think
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http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/south-australia/merger-talks-for-south-australias-emergency-services/story-fni6uo1m-1226956567290 (http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/south-australia/merger-talks-for-south-australias-emergency-services/story-fni6uo1m-1226956567290)
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This article was published in this weeks Hills Courier newspaper, thought you might find it interesting.