New South Wales Rural Fire Service

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RFS insignia

The New South Wales Rural Fire Service (RFS) is a volunteer firefighting service and is responsible for providing fire protection to over 90% of the geographical area of the state of New South Wales in Australia. They have 600 (current October 2005) paid staff who fulfil the management and administrative roles of the service.

The NSW RFS holds claim to be the worlds largest fire service, with over 70000 volunteer firefighters forming 2,093 volunteer brigades across New South Wales. (See NSW RFS Annual Report 2004-2005 [link])

Contents

1 Responsibilities
2 Training

2.1 Other Training

3 Equipment

3.1 Firefighting Vehicles
3.2 Support Vehicles
3.3 Aviation

4 History
5 External links
6 References
7 See also

Responsibilities

The traditional role of the Rural Fire Service (RFS) has been in the protection of the NSW community from bushfires, however this role has since expanded to include attendance to structure fires, and assisting at all types of emergencies including motor vehicle accidents, flood relief/rescue and mountain rescue.

Training

RFS firefighters during VF training

The Rural Fire Service (RFS) members must be assessed as competent before they are allowed to attend fire calls. RFS training packages are aligned with Public Safety Competency Standards from the Australian Qualifications Framework. Some of the areas Rural Fire Service members are trained in are:

Bush Firefighter (aka "Basic Firefighter") [BF]
Village (e.g Structure/MVA) Firefighter [VF]
Advanced Firefighter [AF]
Crew Leader [CL]
Group Leader [GL]
Rural Fire Driving [RFD]
Chainsaw Operator (from cross-cut to problem tree falling)
Breathing Apparatus Operator [BAO]
Senior First Aid [SFA]
Many more, including courses in communications, air operations, incident management, community education

Members who have achieved a mainstream qualification usually wear a badge that signifies their qualifications. These badges, apart from the Senior First Aid, do not denote any speciality.

Other Training

Brigades are often involved in activities apart from firefighting such as:

Administration
Public Awareness and Education
Hazard reduction
Bush Fire Precautions
Pre-Incident Planning
Community Events
Social Activities

The level of involvement in each of these areas varies between brigades, depending on the level of need, and the time and resources available.

Equipment

Firefighting Vehicles

RFS Category 1 tanker

Firefighting appliances utilised within the RFS are categorised as follows (all tankers have single- or dual-cab options):

Category 1 Heavy Tanker All-Wheel Drive (3,001-4,000 Litres)
Category 2 Medium Tanker All-Wheel Drive (1,601-3,000 Litres)
Category 3 Heavy Tanker (Cat 1 without AWD)
Category 4 Medium Tanker (Cat 2 without AWD)
Category 5 Very-Heavy Tanker All-Wheel Drive (4,001+ Litres)
Category 6 Very-Heavy Tanker (Cat 5 without AWD)
Category 7 Light Tanker AWD (801-1,600 Litres)
Category 8 Light Tanker (Category 7 without AWD)
Category 9 Ultra Light (Striker/Mop-up) AWD Appliance (350-800 Litres)
Category 10 Urban Pumper AWD
Category 11 Urban Pumper
Category 12 Personnel Transports
Category 13 Bulk Water Trucks
Category 14 Tanker-Trailers

The most common of these tankers is the Dual Cab Category 1 Tanker (mainly used in a combination of urban and rural roles), also in common use are Category 7 tankers in both single and dual cab and Category 9 appliances. Category 2 tankers are less common but are not unknown, and Category 11 pumpers can be found in many brigades with dedicated urban responsibilities. Category 12 vehicles are common but are often tasked with other responsibilities. Category 13 vehicles are usually rented in the event of a major fire campaign, however there are some Brigades that maintain Category 13 vehicles. Category 14 vehicles are often found on farms. The remaining categories are seldom, if ever, used. Technical information on some of these tankers is available in the [Tanker Information] section of the service's website.

In addition to the land-based categories listed above, there are a number of water-based firefighting appliances (i.e. boats) within the RFS; these appliances are generally operated by brigades located in areas where the only available access is via water (e.g. communities along the Hawkesbury River of NSW).

Support Vehicles

Typical RFS Personnel carrier (PC)

The RFS utilises various support vehicles. These are categorised as follows:

Personnel Carriers. Generally a 4WD in the style of Toyota Landcruisers or Land Rover Defenders. In recent times this has been expanded to Toyota Hilux's and Nissan Navaras
Forward Control Vehicles. These mobile communications centres can range in size from small 4WD-type vehicles to bus-type vehicles.
Bulk Water Tankers to resupply appliances engaged in fire fighting activities.
Catering Units. Catering units vary in size from small trailers, to large fully-equipped mobile kitchen trucks. Catering Units are usually operated by specialist Catering Brigades
Lighting Units. Towed behind a personnel carrier, or other service vehicle. Used to light area's for night time operations such as Motor Vehicle Accidents.

Aviation

The Rural Fire Service also operates an Aviation Unit. The RFS owns one aircraft, a fixed wing "Firescan" aircraft used in mapping, monitoring and detecting fires. The Aviation Unit also contracts aircraft on a full time and on call basis in the role of supporting ground-based firefighting efforts, scouting fires, and spotting new fires. RFS Aviation has also been employed to assist during flood emergencies, such as the June 2005 floods in Northern NSW.

History

The service started as a number of independent brigades in the late 19th Century as a reaction to a number of damaging fire seasons. This situation remained mostly unchanged until the Second World War when the federal government formed the Bush Fires (Emergency) Committee. After the end of the war this committee developed the legislation that would eventually become Bush Fires Act 1949, The most significant provision of the act was the creation of a Bush Fire Fighting Fund from which local councils or governments could obtain funds for their local brigades. In 1990 the Department of Bush Fire Services was set up to administer the NSW Minister for Emergency Services' responsibilities under the Bush Fires Act. Following a lengthy Coronial Inquiry into the devastating fires of 1993/4 the NSW State Government introduced the 1997 Rural Fires Act, which rescinded the 1949 Bush Fires Act and merged the various Bush Fire Services into a single rural fire service with a single chain of command under the name Rural Fire Service. The emergence of a more centralised administration of rural fire services in NSW, through control of bushfire brigades being moved from local government to the RFS has led to ongoing tensions between volunteer firefighters in rural areas and the Sydney - based RFS leadership.

External links

NSW Rural Fire Service Website [link]
NSW Rural Fire Service Association [link]
Queanbeyan City Brigade Website [link]

References

NSW Rural Fire Service Annual Report 2004-2005 [link]