SA Firefighter

Quote from: Darren on June 23, 2009, 10:19:39 PM
Saved a lot of people, huh ?

Darren, WHY do you have to be so pedantic, you know what the grunt meant!........it saved firies from walking :-D

That may have been what SAFECOM was intended to do when it was formed, now it seem to be a bottomless money pit that has a magnetic attraction for bean counters and anal retentive types............. OH and David, the worlds answer to chronic insomnia!.......psst(I hear they recruited heavily from parking inspector stocks throughout Australia) :wink:

Quote from: ltdan on June 23, 2009, 12:03:22 PM





FYI
 
SAFECOM are currently auditing fire stations within CFS. 

He did not know if work was going to commence immediately or if this was a report to ascertain how good or how bad things are.

As I understand it this will be the services first chance too see the state of play across the state.....by a supposedly unbiased means.
Now the chances of substantive work commencing soon to lift ALL brigade stations to a minimum acceptable level well.....Ha  Ha  HAHAAAHAAAAAAAHAAAAAAAAAAAAHAAAAAAAAAA plop  roll roll roll :-D

Quote from: crashndash on June 23, 2009, 11:53:13 AM

Quote from: Bill Corcoran on June 23, 2009, 10:47:51 AM

Witness one of the CFS career staff who was a member of the union here.....now is not. I would suggest if it were possible for anyone it would have been him.

So it was a member of MFS that changed services too CFS?
Only one person comes immediately to mind...Forrest Gump!

Quote from: Bagyassfirey on June 23, 2009, 11:14:51 AM
i dont know that the lack of money for station/equiptment maintenance is quite as statewide as some think. ive personally witnessed plenty of work going on in a station near by to me and i guess this work isn gettin done for free...

Maybe Pipster or Ashes could answer that question, as they have seeen most stations throughout the state!
Also what parameters are you going to put on, that are acceptable eg Toilet? Concrete floor? Meeting room? Industry standard roadworthy appliances? etc etc

Heres the thing, we have a group that is set to represent our interests,the CFSVA
and the only problem with the CFSVA is that all of the regions are not unified in addressing problems.
The outer regions (correct me if Iam wrong) arent concerned about some of the issues raised by regions 1 and 2, because it doesnt concern them! and vice-versa,  again small thinking, we need to think as a service, not just our region/group/brigade.
On just about every thread on this site someone is bagging the CFSVA, why?
Perhaps the reason they seem to be largely inaffective is that there is no unity.
Whether it be a union or the CFSVA they will both have the same problem, members of different regions being apathetic towards others issues and not being prepared to back their brothers!
How many commited posters on here would put their weight behind a militant campaign waged by the CFSVA, calling for marches on parliament house?
Before reinventing the wheel, would not getting behind a structure that is already in place be more effective, AGMs are coming up, if you feel like stirring things up become your group CFSVA rep, if all regions had militant minded members would things be different?

Quote from: bittenyakka on June 21, 2009, 07:12:33 PM
Jaff, I agree that volunteers need to look beyond their own little patch but I do want to know how united/ state wide some things need to be?
I have hears some great plans of standardising a whole heap of stuff in Pt Linclon but strongly disagree with that those ideas for my applications in R1.

Even though we all fight fires, the differences in both risks and attitudes about going about those risks changes all over the state. For example at a recent meeting it was mentioned that in the rural areas along the riverland 20 min for a truck to arrive was acceptable. It is still a response. But in the urban fringe it is viewed as highly unacceptable some brigade like to maintain  <4 minute. A state wide plan doesn't work. We still need to recognise that there are differences that must be accommodated.

Yes, agreed there are differences and they will always be there!
My poorly worded point was, that as a state we need to listen too what everyone has to say and act with the "big picture" in mind not just be focused on your own patch/region.
You are right, across the state there are poles apart firefighting standards/practices and that is where the problem is, NOT that, we don't do it that way so it must be wrong, but the volunteers don't for the most part empathise with the problems of other regions because they don't suffer from them. So not only are we divided by distance but also divided by attitudes and as long as this division remains, a unity across the state that we can use to put pressure on authorities will be elusive!

Quote from: Alan J on June 21, 2009, 02:29:09 AM
G'day Jaff

Which "Big Picture" did you have in mind ?



You are correct that the issues are political in origin.

Alan......... you got it, the staff at region do the best they can with what they have to play with, in most cases doing more than they reasonably should be expected too.
The "Big Picture" I refer too is wanting all volunteers too look at what is happening across the state as a whole, instead of just focusing on their own "issues" if we all did this, we could progress the service as a whole with a united front!
There are no doubt problems to be addressed, but if there was more dollars to be spent on training and volunteer infrastuctue I think a lot of our concerns would be allayed!
Perhaps if "Mike" spent some time in PPE instead of listening to his ministers then these problems would be addressed sooner than waiting for coronial findings!

edit fixed quotes

Quote from: SA Firey on June 18, 2009, 09:37:33 PM
Ah numbers, some dont like to be told how it is but you have summed it up perfectly of course :wink:

firey if you can email me your address, i'll get your daily fish allowance sent around!...........oh yeh beach ball balancing practice has moved back to 1700hrs :wink:

Numbers you have a lot to say on this subject, but it lacks substance. It is a good spray, with a bit of witt thrown in, but where are the facts?
For an anonomous post, with no confirmation as to which service you claim to be in, it lacks credibility and remains a spray from a faceless poster!
If you are in the CFS and your post truely represents the way you feel about things, what have you done to try and rectify some of your complaints?

Numbers I always find it best to follow the dosage instructions on my meds.......I know for you that taking a weeks dosage at a time, may be expedient, but.... :wink:

If your not happy with your lot in your brigade, group or region, then here is the place to vent your spleen! .......or is it?
What I would like to ask EVERYONE is have you followed the chain of command in your enquiries/request?
If your enquiry/request is denied, do you reassess as to why your request/enquiry didn't pan out as you would have liked, eg does it not fit in with the organisations big picture, or are you being unrealistic in your expectations?
If your expectations are not met, do you act like a petulant child and lash out at the organisation? or do you reassess your expectations and if they are still valid seek to progress them through the channels that have been set up for this!

The one TRUE strength of our organisation is the staff at regional levels, they get paid wages that in NO WAY reflect the dedication/service they give to the job, the reason most of them continue in their jobs is love for the service, not the pay or the excellent prospects for advancement, I would suggest if regional staff had their way you would have every wish and whim granted. The reality is, that cannot happen.
So if your request is denied, reassess the situation with the big picture being taken into consideration, revalidate your expectations, if they are still valid follow the procedures to the end, "talk" to the stakeholders, most of them are volunteers as well and only want what is best, if its possible!
Remember as most posters, post with an alias, it is done with annonymity and facts are in some cases are rubbery at best, but the damage that angry unvalidated posts to CFS staff (the people that give far more than their pay levels suggest they should, because of their love of the service) who suprise suprise look at this website, can be huge!

So be mindful of the harm unsubstanciated claims/posts can cause to people, that are for the most part doing all they can to help!

Thoughts?

Nice thought Boredy, but..... our volunteer ethos means we won't accept pay :roll:....but we will piiss and moan constantly about everything that is wrong with our services, whilst at the same time not getting behind our respective volunteer associations!


Our respective associations will never be effective whilst there is division between volunteers,  different regions and areas of the state have varying issues, that impact upon vollies in different ways, whilst the issue raised may not impact your area greatly, you MUST consider the whole service, not just your part, until this unity happens............PIISS AND MOAN AWAY!..... and continue to wonder why were not taken seriously!

DEFCON 6, DEFCON 6, DEFCON 6 ....now don't PANIC!

Quote from: 6739264 on June 11, 2009, 06:33:37 PM

Quote from: Army_emergency_responder on June 11, 2009, 06:11:25 PM

Quote from: Chinny on June 11, 2009, 05:10:10 PM
Umm muitiple Vehicle Accidents and one involving a pedestrian at Seaford  :-o

sounds big ey

Choice, ey bro?

Chick Chick Boom!

Can I buy 2 vowels!

Quote from: JC on June 11, 2009, 09:22:52 AM
Good grammar & English must not be a pre requisite for getting into the Army. As long as they can shoot a gun, there will be no need to know how to spell it.  :wink:

Go easy on our "wanna be grunt", he's got issues!

1 he's always putting his foot in his mouth!
2 he's always shooting his mouth off!
3 he shoots himself in the foot all the time! 

Sorta like a viscious circle!  :-D 

I listened to a instructional cd on how to encourage people trapped in high rise situations, was very interesting, went something like this. " I was walking down the street one day, when I saw a house on fire, there was a man shouting and screaming from a upper story window, to the crowd gathered there below, for he was so afraid".....Cant quite remember the rest!
The cd is still available for sale, I think the narrators were...English and it was Clive someone and Derek someone!

Technicaly....Smechnicaly! :-)

Frankly this is a shocking revelation that the government doesn't care.... and to think that Mike Rann is a CFS vollie.....well technically!

And to think I put my thingy in his box!

Anyone know how often he turns up to training...(lol)..... what a gongbeater!!!!!

So if he does turn up to training does he drag his own hoses or does he have one off his staff pull his hose for him.......kind of a hands off approach.
Naah I guarantee he uses his own hand!

Quote from: Bagyassfirey on June 02, 2009, 09:38:15 PM

...what i meant was is the CFS powers to be on side with this??

Yes.......But they can't publicaly say it. :wink:

Quote from: whitecloud on June 02, 2009, 07:07:33 PM


We are providing a free service,

Negative Whitecloud....... in most cases volunteers are out of pocket, (not just lost wages) providing this so called free service

Quote from: 6739264 on June 01, 2009, 02:45:08 PM


Comrades, lets DO something to fix this problem!

DAA! DAA! Let the glorious revolution begin..........now we just need to pick a kick off date that suits everyone, I'am busy Mondays, Tuesdays and Fridays :-D

Quote from: SA Firey on June 01, 2009, 08:33:10 AM

Quote from: CFS_Firey on May 31, 2009, 05:09:36 PM

Quote from: Darren on May 31, 2009, 04:25:31 PM
Fox must work for the CFS, hahahaha

So why can't Mt Barker get theirs replaced, being on a major freight corridor and with a massive rural area to look after....sigh

Air bags aren't standard stowage, and anything thats isn't standard stowage obviously isn't required...

Not standard stowage is the constant rhetoric a former RC use to say to justify why you could'nt have it on the appliance.If CFS did an audit on what is carried on some appliances they would get a rude shock, but why brigades cant have equipment on the appliance to suit their response area and terrain, to fulfill their "Duty of Care" to the community is a joke. 

Have you done anything about it? its all pretty easy to have a whine, but very few truly rattle the cage and push for change!

Quote from: Zippy on May 31, 2009, 11:05:56 PM


We all know there are other factors that cause new members to drift early...

Do we? ..........as a service do we do exit polls?

We expend a lot of energy and resources behind getting people to join, but fark all on retention!
So when people do resign lets give them a formal exit poll and examine the reasons behind volunteer drift!

Oh yeah the 3day BFF1 in my opinion is not such a big impost and hopefully wouldnt in its current guise be to confronting to any newbies.

Quote from: boredmatrix on May 31, 2009, 11:14:41 PM
pack of 50 candles and a roll of double sided tape worked for me.....


cheap as bro....came to $6.80 at go-lo....

Can be usefull as alarm clocks as well :-o