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« on: January 04, 2006, 02:39:38 PM »
And this today.................
CFS chief despairs over the attitude of young
By CRAIG BILDSTIEN
04jan06
THE attitude of young people was partly to blame for the CFS losing members and not being able to sign volunteers, Country Fire Services chief Euan Ferguson said.
Mr Ferguson said yesterday the CFS had lost 1000 volunteers over the past three years. "I am not having a go at them . . . but they do have different attitudes and values to the baby boomers," he said.
"The younger generation has got this 'what's in it for me' type attitude. They will only volunteer if they can see that they're going to get some direct benefit."
Mr Ferguson said the CFS had struggled to muster volunteers for fires over the past fortnight.
Mr Ferguson said that like other volunteer organisations, the CFS had been forced to take notice of what young people were saying in order to entice them to join.
"We've actually listened, and that's one of the reasons our training courses are now nationally accredited," he said.
"A lot of our younger people are quite comfortable with more and more training and being assessed for it. Many have not been brought up on the farm by dad and taught how to burn off, and so they do need basic skills training.
"But it's a double-edged sword . . . many of our older volunteers are farmers with practical skills, and don't have the time for three days' training, and this is something we are grappling with at the moment."
Meanwhile, Adelaide Hills Council staff yesterday visited 33 properties previously issued with notices to clear fire hazards and found that 11 owners had not complied.
Each owner will be fined $160 and they will receive clean-up bills from the council.
And in Victoria, firefighters have threatened to walk off the job during busy summer months and the Commonwealth Games in a dispute over safety.
United Firefighters Union state secretary Peter Marshall said the current uniform used in fighting structural fires failed to meet national and international standards.
The state's workplace safety authority, WorkSafe Victoria, had found the uniform did not meet Australian standards and directed it be used during training exercises only if extra supervision, safety precautions and lower fuel loads were used, Mr Marshall said.
He said the Victorian Government had known about the problem for at least four years.
"Our patience is worn out. Fix the uniform or otherwise . . . we'll be saying to the Government: 'You wear our uniform and do the fire and see how you like it'."
The uniform is used by metropolitan firefighters and Country Fire Authority workers who are called to fight house fires, including buildings set ablaze by bushfires such as the one that destroyed seven homes near Stawell at the weekend.
Acting Premier John Thwaites said the uniform dispute had arisen during the course of enterprise bargaining negotiations.
"There are often a lot of claims made . . .," he said. "I am confident that firefighters in this state are very safe."
Opposition emergency services spokesman Kim Wells accused the Government of dragging its feet.
Adam.
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and taking it very easy from there on.
