Dear ,
Welcome to our monthly newsletter. You can find a print version of this months articles on Page 2 of the August edition of the 'Fireman' newspaper. You can modify your subscriber details by following the 'Subscriber Options' link at the bottom of this email.
Editorial: Fire Services Review of CFA/MFB By Andrew Ford, VFBV Chief Executive Officer |
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The State Government has announced a review of MFB and CFA – this is a serious issue for volunteers and the review is running on a very short time
frame.
The Terms of Reference are broad and address matters that could have a big impact on the future, depending on the extent to which the Review has time to fully consider them.
VFBV recognises that many volunteers are anxious about the Review, however we must also see this as an opportunity to put forward the measures we see as necessary to protect the Victorian community for generations to come, and to build strong volunteerism that is embraced to best contribute to a safer Victoria.
We have posted information at www.vfbv.com.au and will keep this updated during the review. We have sent information to VFBV District officials and through them will give our best endeavour to engage volunteers
locally.
Most recent advice is that the Review will accept submissions from the public and Brigades, unfortunately still with very tight timelines but an opportunity for you to have your say, nonetheless.
I urge you to consider these things and talk to your District Executive as soon as you can;
Opportunities for improvement - What improvements could be made, for service delivery today,
for the next fire season, or in the context of broader Emergency Management Sector and fire service arrangements long term;
Key issues - What are the top two or three things you consider to be most critical and what would you want VFBV to say about them;
I agree the time frames are surprisingly short and I have raised this concern with the Minister, CFA and the Inquiry team. VFBV will make a detailed submission by the due date. I encourage any input you wish to make via the processes outlined above. |
Two Important Messages from VFBV and the State Government, issued 19 August 2015 |
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The open letter below from Minister Jane Garrett was received by VFBV this afternoon for circulation to our volunteer communications networks.
Please assist by forwarding the Ministers open letter to fellow CFA volunteers.
In addition to the Ministers invitation for submissions by members of the public and CFA Brigades, VFBV will make a detailed submission. VFBV District Councils are already in the process of facilitating as much
discussion as possible within the timeframe provided by the review.
I encourage your active input to VFBV discussion and/or direct input to the Fire Services Review via details provided in the Minister’s Open Letter (below). David O’Byrne has advised that submissions can be made on a confidential basis and
I encourage volunteers to provide input no matter how brief or detailed.
Andrew Ford Chief Executive Officer Volunteer Fire Brigades
Victoria
A message from Emergency Services Minister Jane Garrett to Victoria's volunteer firefighters
The work you do as CFA volunteers makes a vital contribution to keeping our state safe.
You have Victoria's enduring thanks for the countless times you have protected lives and
property in the face of natural disasters.
As you know, the Andrews Labor Government has commissioned a review into Victoria's firefighting services. This will ensure Victoria maintains its world-class fire services.
Some people think this review is designed to amalgamate the CFA and the MFB.
I'm writing to you to assure you that this is not the case and that this idea is not on the government's agenda.
Victoria’s fire services and their boundaries will remain
intact.
The review will focus on major issues facing fire agencies. This includes identifying the support volunteer brigades require to remain viable into the future.
As part of this, the reviewer Mr David O'Byrne is talking to people across our fires services community, including Volunteer Fire Brigades Victoria.
Members of the public, including volunteer brigades can make submissions via the dedicated Fire Services Review webpage: https://myviews.justice.vic.gov.au/fireservicesreview or in writing to the Fire Services Review, Level 30, 121 Exhibition Street, Melbourne, VIC 3000.
Submissions will be taken until the 31st of August as the review is due to be finalised before the beginning of the fire season.
If you have any
queries in relation to the review, please contact the review secretariat at [email protected]
Fire Services Review Terms of Reference and Timeframes |
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The State Government has announced a Fire Services Review (FSR) into CFA and MFB. The Review is to be complete by 31 September 2015.
The Terms of Reference for the Review are;
- An assessment of the resourcing requirements necessary to ensure Victoria is appropriately equipped and fire
ready;
- How CFA and MFB staff can be best supported in protecting communities, taking into consideration operational needs as well as Occupational Health and Safety best practice and best training methods;
- The interoperability between the CFA and MFB;
- The interoperability across fire agencies responsible for preventing and suppressing all types of fire in Victoria, whether on public or private land;
- CFA and MFB management structures and management work
practices;
- Enhancing workplace culture, including fostering greater respect and cooperation between management and its workforce, as well as enhancing workplace innovation and diversity;
- Options for the establishment of a Career Firefighters Registration Board; and
- The best mechanism to provide support for volunteer fire brigades and to ensure their viability in providing emergency services. Submissions are due 31 August.
Submissions are
due 31 August. VFBV was first advised of the Review on 29 July and immediately activated a process to engage volunteers via District Councils. VFBV has expressed dismay at the short timeframe and many volunteers have written to VFBV and others with similar concerns.
Stakeholders invited to make submissions are; CFA, MFB, DELWP, EMV, UFU, three other unions and VFBV.
As this article goes to press, the Government has advised that the Review
will accept submissions from the public, which provides opportunity for Brigades and volunteers to make submissions. The Review team plans to establish a website to accept submissions. Visit www.vfbv.com.au for help with your submission.
VFBV Survey for CFA and VICSES Volunteers Closing Soon |
Well over a thousand volunteers have taken the 2015 VFBV Volunteer Welfare and Efficiency Survey so far, and all CFA and VICSES volunteers
are invited to have their say before it closes on 31 August.
Now in its fourth year, this volunteer-run survey takes 10 to 15 minutes to complete and tracks trends in volunteers’ opinions on a range of issues that were chosen by volunteers as most important to them. The VICSES version of the survey is new, VFBV is hosting it on behalf of the VICSES volunteers’ organisation the Victorian Emergency Services Association
(VESA).
The survey is a co-operative process; VFBV and the CFA Board have studied the first three years' results and will continue to use the survey to highlight aspects of volunteer support that need attention.
Your individual answers will be confidential, but the overall results will go straight to the decision makers, and greater numbers of volunteers taking part mean the survey’s final report will carry greater weight with CFA, VICSES, the
Emergency Management Commissioner and government.
You only have a few days left to take the survey and to encourage other volunteers to participate.
New Digital Scanner Selected |
The long awaited CFA approved digital listening sets/scanners have been chosen, and CFA has placed an order for the Uniden UBCD436HP-ES.
The
scanner underwent thorough technical testing with CFA and importantly VFBV volunteer representatives have conducted extensive field tests and given it the thumbs up. Uniden is now gearing up for production, with delivery planned for the end of October.
The scanner will be compatible with the new technology when CFA’s radios transition to P25 Phase 2.
It will be delivered pre-programmed with the current CFA/DELWP radio channel plan and will be
capable of receiving analogue and digital radio.
CFA is working with VFBV on a process for equitable distribution of the scanners across all Brigades, along with implementing a subsidy to cut the cost to Brigades .
Volunteers are calling on CFA to consider old mistakes and new volunteers when it comes to choosing the next pager.
VFBV State Council has endorsed a motion from District 15 requesting that the VFBV/CFA Joint Communications Committee ensure that new pagers are only selected after full consultation with volunteers.
The motion also called for the Joint Committee to ensure that the issues encountered with current pagers are considered and not repeated.
The motion pointed out that most members have a mobile phone and younger
members particularly don’t wish to wear both a pager and their phone, which means CFA may lose members if their concerns are not considered.
Analogue Channel Shutdown |
The VFBV/CFA Joint Communications and Technology
Committee has become aware that CFA is shutting down an increasing number of analogue radio channels, despite an agreement that it would not decommission analogue services until the new digital listening sets were available.
The Committee has expressed its frustration and CFA representatives have explained that the
analogue shutdowns were needed to provide increased digital capacity in the network, and did not go ahead without District Operations Managers’ approval.
CFA has told the Joint Committee that it was the OM’s responsibility to conduct local consultation before approving any shutdown. Should your Brigade have concerns,
you should proactively discuss the issue with your OM before they approve any local shutdown.
To hear CFA traffic, go to www.broadcastify.com/listen/stid/152 and select your region. Anyone listening via their mobile phone should keep track of their data usage to avoid exceeding their monthly data limit.
VFBV and volunteers have contributed improvements to a draft Emergency Management Volunteer Statement for Victoria; a commitment between the Government, agencies and emergency
volunteers.
Many volunteers asked whether it will erode or set aside the CFA Volunteer Charter and its legal backing in the CFA Act. VFBV is pleased to report the Minister and EM Commissioner have assured that the Statement is intended to strengthen and complement the Charter. It recognises that many issues are common across the sector and reflects a future direction and aspiration that we all
work together.
After discussion and feedback through District Councils, our comments included; - A very strong theme that the Statement’s value relies heavily on the level of effort put into ensuring the words are put into action
- Many volunteers asked how the Statement’s achievements would be measured, by whom and what avenues are open to volunteers if they feel they are not being achieved
VFBV sees it as a positive and reinforcing commitment by the Victorian Government and Emergency Management Sector to consult and engage with
volunteers in emergency management on matters that affect them. The VFBV District 27 Council will hold its inaugural meeting on Thursday, 20 August at 7:30 pm, at District 27 Headquarters, 23 Hazelwood Road Morwell.
The meeting will form the new District
Council and elect a President, Vice President, State Councillors, Secretary, Treasurer and Executive Members.
All District 27 Brigades are invited to attend and vote on who will represent them – you are encouraged to look for members that have the right attributes to represent you on the many local and statewide issues
that affect volunteers.
Limits on the number of volunteers being trained in First Aid still constitute an unresolved issue, and VFBV has made a direct request to CFA for an update on any progress.
The issue persists in spite of the Chief Officer’s ‘maximum density model’ being reported in CFA’s reporting on its implementation of Jones Inquiry recommendations and an assurance at last year’s Benalla mini forum in October that a funding proposal supporting that model was close to being accepted.
We are still receiving complaints from volunteer Brigades that they are limited in the number of members who can be trained in First Aid and in some Districts CFA is sending invoices to Brigades for training members in First Aid above their current BOSP targets.
VFBV presented CFA with a detailed official position paper on First Aid in 2010, calling for the removal of barriers to First Aid training, Recognition of Prior Learning for those already well qualified, and First Aid training to be made available for every operational volunteer who is willing to undertake it and non-operational volunteers who need it under OH&S
requirements.
A copy of the VFBV First Aid Position Paper is available in the Library section of the VFBV website www.vfbv.com.au CFA Chief Officer Euan
Ferguson AFSM will be a keynote speaker at the VFBV Annual General Meeting. The AGM will be at 2pm on Sunday, 13 September, at Melton. More details available soon – see www.vfbv.com.au. VFBV congratulates CFA and the Volunteer Reference Group for another successful Community Engagement & Hazard Awareness Forum, run at Creswick on the 1 and 2 August.
The forum is in its fifth year and this
year was run in conjunction with VICSES. More than 500 members from 200 Brigades and Units came together to discuss and share their local community safety and engagement initiatives.
There were more than 50 interactive sessions and keynote speakers from CFA, VICSES, NSW Rural Fire Service, Risk Frontiers and the
Wellington Regional Emergency Management Office from New Zealand.
The weekend was a fantastic showcase of CFA embracing and collaborating with other agencies and supporting members with a passion for community safety. If your Brigade
has not attended before, keep an eye out for next year’s forum. You won’t be disappointed.
VFBV welcomes State Government VESEP grants |
This year's Volunteer
Emergency Services Equipment Program (VESEP) grants will help 202 Brigades and Groups with new fire trucks and equipment.
VESEP is a great program and the successful Brigades and Groups will receive a share of $7.1 million in funding.
In addition, there is $1.9 million for other initiatives including funding for cold climate gear designed for incidents like road accidents and searches in inclement weather, where wildfire PPC doesn't provide sufficient protection form the rain or cold.
VFBV helped to design the VESEP grants program, so it is low on paperwork and lets the Brigade pick from a list of trucks,
equipment and fire station improvements that best meet their needs and fundraising capacity.
The grants match local fundraising two for one, so a Brigade can apply for anything from a few hundred dollars for a chainsaw to $100,000 for a fire truck or specialist vehicle.
VESEP grants
fund a wide range of useful projects and gear for CFA Brigades, including;
- Operational gear, such as chainsaws, pumps and generators,
- Vehicles and appliances, such as Field Command Vehicles, fire trucks and rescue trucks,
and
- Improvements to fire stations, such as refurbishments like training and meeting rooms.
The $12 million VESEP program is also open to local volunteer groups from organisations including the Australian Volunteer Coast Guard (AVCG), Life Saving Victoria
(LSV), and Victoria State Emergency Service (VICSES).
VESEP is a good example of how involving front line volunteers form the design stage of a program can make it a success that adds to the ability of local Brigades and other emergency units to
protect the community.
Brigades thinking about a VESEP application for next year can find useful tips and case studies in the VFBV VESEP Application Support Toolkit, which is available online at www.vfbv.com.au
Quality Candidates for VFBV Board |
It is encouraging that there have been 13 nominations for four VFBV Board vacancies to be filled this year, the field of candidates is of good quality and nearly half the nominees are women.
The vacancies will arise when the terms of current Board Members Tom Brodie, Gary Lyttle, Mick Nunweek and Hans van Hamond expire on 1 October 2015. Tom Brodie will be retiring from the Board; all other members are eligible for re-appointment.
A panel from the VFBV State Executive will interview the candidates in September before announcing the successful nominees at the VFBV Annual General Meeting. |
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