Author Topic: Task Force Complaints (Read 39915 times)

aust_fire1 · « **on:** December 07, 2006, 09:35:45 AM »

We go on Task Forces all over the State & Interstate.
What are the problems we have when Tasking.
Is it the food or lack of it.
Is it the sitting around all day.
Is it the long hours.
Is it the Lack of Infomation.
Is it the extremely short notice to Task to an incident.
Is it the sleeping arrangements.
Is it leaving your appliance behind at the incident for others to use.
Is it being told to crew an appliance other than your own when your unit is also there.
Is it going to an unfamiliar area and no local rep is assigned to your task force to assist your team in arriving. Telling you about all the hidden obsticles that only a local will know about.
Or anything at all.

OK, lets get started

Alan (Big Al) · « **Reply #1 on:** December 07, 2006, 03:08:31 PM »

Leaving a appliance behind for others to crew is an issue i have, because some people think oh it's not from our brigade so who cares what we do to it!!!
And being told to go somewhere and being expected to know where to go, i fully agree that there should be a local escort to get you where you need to go without the stuff ups and the people who think they know where they going but don't.

24P · « **Reply #2 on:** December 07, 2006, 03:13:11 PM »

Short notice. For example Waikerie fires: the fire has been going for a few days, paged at 1600 to be at Blanchetown by 1800. Surely more forward planning for this type of event can take place? Why couldnt they page at say 10:00 am for 18:00, giving people more time to organise themselves?

Ryan · « **Reply #3 on:** December 07, 2006, 03:19:37 PM »

doing nothing and being having unorganised people back at bases. Drove around doing nothing for ages on one recent strike team then eventually did somethihg that had been suggested int he morning and been knoced back.

Short ntoice doesnt affect me that much personally howvever for this stirke team I had about 10mins to get my stuff and get to the station in 15 mins, was a rush but alright really.

Smallflame · « **Reply #4 on:** December 07, 2006, 03:20:17 PM »

Organization and strategy. Unfortunately common sense isn't as common as one would hope, which is reflected quite clearly in large operations.

medevac · « **Reply #5 on:** December 07, 2006, 03:59:01 PM »

leaving the appliance behind.... hate it. our appliance that we take on "short" strike teams, is not the sort that anyone can just go up to and now how to work the ins and outs of it..

also hate getting there and sitting at a staging point for 1/2 an hour while its bloddy obvious where we should be and what we should be doing... (for example; watching a fire burn unchecked over a hill towards vineyards...)

SA Firey · « **Reply #6 on:** December 07, 2006, 05:25:36 PM »

Short notice like getting paged at 1500 hrs and have to be at Cape Jervis by 1800 hrs to catch the ferry.

Incoming strike teams not going to fireground channel as nominated, or simply not talking to the sector commanders because they are on the wrong talkgroup.

Strike team deployment is normally a 12 hour duration yet many have whinged after being there for 4 hours...if you put your hand up expect at least 12 hours on the fireground

bittenyakka · « **Reply #7 on:** December 07, 2006, 06:35:09 PM »

Mainly the sitting around doing nothing.

And being the unlucky strike team that leaves the station at 19:00 one night and then spends the night freezing supposedly monitoring a nonexistent fire without coffee and warm drinks being sent out. And not getting home until 9:30 the next day.

In short OIC who doesn’t know what the fire is doing.

Camo · « **Reply #8 on:** December 07, 2006, 07:28:11 PM »

Strike teams when you dont get too see the fireground during the day.

I understand its not always possible but where possible it should be a priority as it helps improve firefighter safety greatly as we have a general idea of the area.

Sitting around and doing nothing isnt great. A crew from our station spent the day at Ngarkat. Never moved from the spot where they first sat. If they werent fed about 3/4 the way through the day you would swear they didnt know they were there.

I see people complaining about doing nothing but patrolling an edge. Believe or not this is still called firefighting. Just because your a strike team doesnt mean you will be doing the exciting stuff. Someone has to do it and its usually the locals that will attend to the more serious stuff as they already know the area etc.

Scania_1 · « **Reply #9 on:** December 07, 2006, 07:37:11 PM »

Hey if you dont want to go, stay home and protect your own patch.

Camo · « **Reply #10 on:** December 07, 2006, 07:40:03 PM »

Volunteers are willing to help on strike teams. Its just they dont like getting screwed around when they do offer there help.

Ryan · « **Reply #11 on:** December 07, 2006, 07:43:14 PM »

haha exactly ath, whingers are a problem too. You volunteered to go you kno what happens ont he teams so dont complain, someone else probably didnt get to go cause you went. (no this isnt directed at those who replied to this thread or who started it cause I also contributed

) Sitting around doing nothing can be fun, crap jokes become hilarious for one thing...

aust_fire1 · « **Reply #12 on:** December 07, 2006, 07:53:59 PM »

Being rung at 11 at night to be told to organise crews to task at 4 in the morning.(Boy, do I make friends ha ha)

To be told that we must sit and wait ( no smoke in sight)

To get up at 4 in the morning and Travel for 4 hrs to find out that there was no Time for breakfast when you got to the staging area because you are told to rush to a certain sector to then just sit and wait for 6 hrs and do nothing.

And when you do go and work extremely hard for half the day to find that there has been no food organised or to find that when food arrives it is sandwiches put in a foam box to find that the contents of the sandwiches have bled thru the bread. What about using an esky with some cool blocks in it.

To find that you must leave your appliance park on roadways over night to find equipment missing or tampered with the next day after you sleep.

To find that half the task force must sleep in one town and the other half must travel another 45km's to sleep.(What happens if you have to task somewhere quickly during the night.)
I believe that a task force should all be at least in the same town or area when sleeping etc

To find that when they do eventually supply food on the fire ground, that nobody remembers to bring out ice for cooling drinks.

I believe that each task force should be supplied with a local farmer or someone who has good knowledge of local terrain, fire tracks, roads etc ( At least for the first day of each task force entering the district)

aust_fire1 · « **Reply #13 on:** December 07, 2006, 08:04:03 PM »

Oh, dont get me wrong, I love to task. I would never say no.
But lets look after the hundreds of volleys that do go on these taskings.

And yes, we do somehow turn a bad task into a great time with all the funny stories and crap jokes that members tell us.

And most of all, i have made some great new friends everytime I go.

Smallflame · « **Reply #14 on:** December 08, 2006, 06:06:14 AM »

Just to make a positive comment, I will quite happily attend ANY strike team where Onkaparinga group have control of logistics... After working hard, really good food makes a nice end to the day!

5271rescue · « **Reply #15 on:** December 09, 2006, 10:27:06 AM »

Well i would have to say short notice is one of the killers this fire season,if you wont people to go then you need to page early,its silly that we page at 1400hrs for crews to do a night shift in region 3 and you have to be on the bus at 1500hrs... Now what happend to the work hour rule where you could only do so many hours then have to be of the fire ground??? The other issue is catering in this day and age we still get it wrong One of of brigade members has a great idea and may be we need to look at it.... The army have large scale mobile kitchens that are able to be set up and feed up to 3000 people per day.. So why not call them in??? Its about time that on large scale fire's we started to look after the troops and that way they will come back for sure....

aust_fire1 · « **Reply #16 on:** December 09, 2006, 01:16:43 PM »

A mobile kitchen sounds good.. If each task force has 30+ members at each location, surely the kitchen is an option..

I wonder how much it costs CFS everytime we call The Salvo's to supply meals at the staging areas.
And that kitchen is only ever based at staging.

Alan (Big Al) · « **Reply #17 on:** December 09, 2006, 01:30:22 PM »

I think CFS should buy some port-a-potty's and put them out near the fire ground i'm not real keen dumpin in the bush especially around our camera happy mob

aust_fire1 · « **Reply #18 on:** December 09, 2006, 05:49:26 PM »

Hey Mun...You have to eat first to have a reason to dump, or is the porta-potty to sit on and wait for the food..ha ha

5271rescue · « **Reply #19 on:** December 09, 2006, 06:20:25 PM »

come on Alan if we did not take photos we would never see what goes on...This year the DSE went and bought some mobile kitchens for the long summer ahead.as for the salvos they do a good job but they can not do long duration jobs. The local unit at Millicent has been flat out. The Naracoorte brigade has a auxiliary that is able to cater and we also have a catering trailer... But I would like to see that some where in each region there is a catering appliance same as narre warren CFA have.... Able to provide a good feed and water hole not only at large jobs but also at MVA/hazmat anything really where you will be there for a long time.

aust_fire1 · « **Reply #20 on:** December 09, 2006, 06:26:52 PM »

Hey...It was Mun talking about the cameras... I am the one that takes the pics. Mun and I are in the same group.
:-DSmile next time I click a pic mun

Alan (Big Al) · « **Reply #21 on:** December 09, 2006, 10:14:20 PM »

true about the food, at onka gorge the other night we didn't even know anyone had been fed until east torrens car1 pulled up next to us with some very cold Big Mac's and fries really regretted eating those at 4am.

Ryan · « **Reply #22 on:** December 09, 2006, 10:25:03 PM »

hey dont complain about cold until youve eaten a cold hotdog with cold bacon, cold bread and cold cheese (no this wasnt CFS but paid $4 andf wasnt gonna waste it...)

Riverland food was great, kinda cold schnitzel and chip[s but bearable and very nice and some good sangers from the Sandwicxh Entity Service.

5271rescue · « **Reply #23 on:** December 10, 2006, 05:16:04 AM »

I also find it hard in this day and age with T cards how the hell we can still lose appliances and members on the fire ground it does happen.

aust_fire1 · « **Reply #24 on:** December 10, 2006, 05:35:39 AM »

Funny you should bring up the T-Cards 5271. We tasked for 3 days to the Riverland and filled out 5 T-Cards all up.