Wishing you a Merry Christmas and a great 2011

It is time to say 'thank you!'

The holiday season offers us a special opportunity to extend our personal thanks to you for your contribution over the past 12 months. 2010 has been a busy and exciting period for Community Engagement and our achievements are the direct result of our community engagement team across the state working together. To all of you who have been involved in, or supported, the NSW RFS Community Engagement activities we send our sincere appreciation - thank you so very much.

Christmas is a time to spend with family and friends, to be thankful for what we have and enjoy a well-earned break. Please take care and stay safe especially while travelling.


The 2010 revised Bush Fire Survival Plan



From Lew - 2010 has been a great year for community engagement. Highlights for me were the support and guidance we have received from the Consultative Committee, attending the Region West Forum and the increased use of social media such as Facebook and our Blog to improve accessibility to information for everyone across the state.

The new Fact Sheets, the Bush Fire Survival Plan revision and the delivery of the Roadshows were all positive changes in direction that involved a lot of interaction and feedback from our members that led to the delivery of much better engagement products. I thank you for this.

Personally, I have consciously tried for a better work life balance this year, with varying levels of success. Family is such an important part of our lives and I encourage everyone to use the holiday season to reflect on this.

From Tanyia - My personal highlight over the past year was the opportunity to meet so many wonderful people, hear some of your stories and learn from your experiences. Our state-wide community engagement team is made up of so many dedicated people. I would like to make special mention of the Consultative Committee for their openness and encouragement, the Wollondilly team for being so inviting and to each volunteer or staff member that took the time to share, question, challenge and encourage.



Participants in the 2010 Roadshow





Participating in events such as the Roadshows and the Pilot Training sessions were really enjoyable for me and I learnt so much about the challenges, successes and often humorous situations our team across the state finds themselves in. I look forward to meeting many more people and hearing many more stories in 2011.

Thank you so much for your efforts and support this year. We wish you, your family and loved ones a safe and Happy Christmas.

Lew                                                                        Tan

Lew Short                                                              Tanyia Tuckey

Group Manager Community Resilience                      Manager Community Engagement



An explanation of the Rural Fires Amendment Bill 2010

Have you heard talk about, or mention in the media of, the Rural Fires Amendment Bill 2010?

Do you know what it is?

Do you know what it means?

In simple terms a bill is a proposed law under consideration. A bill does not become law until it is approved or passed by Parliament. Once a bill has been enacted into law, it is called an act or a statute.

The Rural Fires Amendment Bill 2010 has progressed through Parliament and was passed on Tuesday 7 December 2010. The changes are for:

1. The issuing of public warnings about bush fires and bush fire threats in NSW for the purpose of protecting life and property.
2. An increase in the number of members on the Bush Fire Co-Coordinating Committee from 13 to 14. It now includes two members of staff from the Department of Industry and Investment when there was previously only one.
3. An instruction that the Bush Fire Management Committee must, when preparing a draft Bush Fire Risk Management plan to consider the number and location of Neighbourhood Safer Places.
4. The designation, inspection, removal of designation, register and signposting of Neighbourhood Safer Places being the responsibility of the NSW Rural Fire Service.

The Rural Fires Amendment Bill 2010 makes changes in two important areas for Community Engagement and Resilience .

The bill formalises the responsibility of the RFS to issue public warnings about bush fires. Some of the most significant recommendations of the Victorian Bush Fires Royal Commission's findings relate to the delivery of information during a bushfire.

Accurate and timely information can assist people in making informed decisions about the actions they need to take in the face of a bushfire threat. The RFS provides a range of ways that people can access information such as our web page where it shows current  Current Fire Activity in NSW, ringing 1800 NSW RFS and by the iPhone application “Fires Near Me”. These are important tools for us to help make information more accessible to the community. To assist them in their decision making during emergencies and should work hand in hand with the revised Bush Fire Survival Plan   where they should have identified trigger point and the actions they will take.

Under the New South Wales State Disaster Plan (Displan), it is the responsibility of the lead agency responding to an emergency to issue warnings to the public. In the case of major bush fires, the lead agency is the Rural Fire Service. The amendment outlined in this bill recognises the current practice in which the New South Wales Rural Fire Service Commissioner ensures that appropriate warnings are issued at times when members of the community are potentially at risk from bush fires. This amendment formalises and enhances this existing function for the commissioner, or his delegate, to ensure that warnings are issued regularly and when necessary.

Neighbourhood Safer Places  have also evolved from the Victorian Royal Commission's recommendations. A neighbourhood safer place is a place of last resort for people during a bushfire as part of a back up plan if their bushfire survival plan has failed or cannot be put into action.

A Neighbourhood Safer Place is an identified building or open space that can provide a higher level of protection from the immediate life-threatening effects of a bushfire—such as exposure to radiant heat, smoke and embers. As the royal commission acknowledged, using this type of refuge still entails some risk, both in moving to the neighbourhood safer place and while sheltering there. They are meant as places of last resort in extreme emergencies only, with the primary purpose of protecting human life.

This bill assigns responsibility to the RFS for identifying and appointing Neighbourhood Safer Places throughout the State on public and private lands, ensuring every effort is made to consult and reach agreement with the owner or occupier of an area identified as a potential Neighbourhood Safer Place prior to it be approved.

The RFS is also now responsible for undertaking an annual review of Neighbourhood Safer Places to ensure they continue to be appropriate as a place of last resort from bush fires, decommissioning Neighbourhood Safer Places where they are no longer considered suitable, and ensuring that Neighbourhood Safer Places are taken into consideration in Bushfire Risk Management Plans, as well as being published on the NSW RFS website.

Local Emergency Management Committees (LEMC) will no longer be responsible for identifying potential locations or approving Neighbourhood Safer Places. Instead, the NSW RFS will assume these responsibilities, recognising that, as the lead agency for bushfire management, it is the best qualified and equipped to do so. To reinforce the bushfire safety of at-risk communities, the Government this month expanded the Neighbourhood Safer Places program with an injection of $3.4 million per year. This will provide the additional resources required to identify, construct, maintain and ensure signage of new and existing neighbourhood safer places.

These are positive steps forward that support our actions to date to provide information to the community and to provide a range of options that they need to consider when completing their Bush Fire Survival Plan.

If you would like to view the document you can view it at Rural Fires Amendment Bill 2010

Thanks all,

Cheers from Lew

Womens Fire Awareness Program - Innovative yet Simple!

Hello All,

Last week we launched our first electronic newsletter 'Engagement Matters' targeting NSW RFS members who participate in Community Engagement activities, or for those who are thinking they might like to become involved in Community Engagement! We have received some really positive feedback about the articles so I am going to share some of them here on our blog.

The first one is an article from Frances who is a member of the Canyonleigh Brigade. I was privileged to attend one of her Training days and it has been one of the highlights of my first year at NSW RFS. Frances inspired me. Her passion, her energy, the teamwork displayed on the day and the effectiveness and simplicity of the components of the training were simply awesome!

I hope you enjoy the article.

Cheers

Tanyia

Manager, Community Engagement

NSW RFS

Women's Fire Awareness Program

Supporting Women in Canyonleigh

…Providing knowledge and practical experience to help women make informed decisions. The decisions include leaving early and the real risk and preparation needed should they stay and defend. The training day also aims to ensure all participants have a greater awareness of fire behaviour and leave at the end of the day having started their Bush Fire Survival Plan…

A Fire Awareness Training day dedicated solely to the women of the Canyonleigh community has been offered by our local Brigade for the last 8 years. The training day targets women who are at home alone or with children while husbands or partners worked out of the area. These groups were identified as one of the higher at risk groups within our community. It was also acknowledged that women are generally the custodians of their family’s safety and even if they cannot physically drive change, with the right information they will take responsibility for it.

Back in 2002 when the program started, the training involved putting out spot fires, wearing the correct protective clothing, pump practise and property visits to discuss protection around the home. It was run by brigade members.

The program today is very much the same, with the only essential difference being that the training is now facilitated by women from within the brigade. One of the women has lots of practical bush fire fighting experience whilst the other has adult education experience. Many brigade members help throughout the day and are available to answer questions.

Getting People to the Training Day

Advertising the program takes a lot of effort and publicity. Some of the key marketing activities we use are:

Our local newspaper. We maintain an active presence in “Canyonleigh Chronicle”, our local newspaper which comes out every 2 months. Throughout the year we try to keep up the community aware that we live in a fire prone area by including bush fire related articles. These cover such topics as;

  * What the brigade is up too

  * Information such as the new Fire Danger Rating meter

  * What people need to be doing to protect their homes through the winter

  * Advertisements for new brigade members

  * Fire Awareness Training Days and articles written by people who have attended a Training Day.

• Utilising women’s networks and school networks. We ask women as they register or show an interest if they know anyone else who might benefit from the Training Day. Women’s networks are very strong which has prompted other brigades in our area to start asking about Canyonleigh’s Women’s Fire Awareness Program.

• Presence at community activities. Brigade members often run sausage sizzles at community events which give us the opportunity to talk to people, and if interested in a training day, getting their phone number to contact them later.

• A notice is put up at the General Store.

• One of the other key activities that we use to get people to attend the day is a follow up phone call after some interest is shown. Follow-up phone calls are very involved and include talking to possible participants about the day, what they can expect and what they need to wear to put out spot fires. During the phone call we also try to find out if they have a Bush Fire Survival Plan and whether they find out the Fire Danger Rating each day during fire season.

 

On the Day

Part of the 'Getting to Know You' exercise

It is an 8.00am start with tea and coffee and “Getting to Know You” activities to allow people to settle into the group situation. From the moment people pull up in the car park someone greets them and walks them inside and introduces them around. Some of the “Getting to Know You” activities include butchers paper put up around the room with some really basic questions such as ‘My favourite pets name is . . .’ or ‘My favourite dessert is . . ‘ and ‘Today I am hoping too . . . .’. As participants are waiting for others to arrive they can wander around the room and write on the butchers paper rather than just sit at a table and wait.

We start off by covering topics such as fire behaviour, weather and our local topography and vegetation. We show footage of the Canberra fires and discuss what we’ve seen.

This leads onto protective clothing and the opportunity to get out of our seats and dress our manikins, Nigel and Audrey appropriately. Then we discuss the new Fire Danger Rating meter and some of the statistics and recommendations as a result of the Victorian Fires.




An innovative way to discuss the Fire Danger Rating

Part of the discussion is around people's decision making process regarding staying and defending or leaving early. We talk about the pressures that people may feel when making this decision. Here we start to review the Bush Fire Survival Plan and discuss the risks of not having a Bush Fire Survival Plan that everybody in the household is familiar with and the benefits of practising this plan regularly.

This is followed by a fun “Stress” activity to get people thinking about their reactions to stress and the unknown.

OK so the Brigade Captain got a bit 'enthusiastic'
with his distractions!

The activity involves getting people to sort a deck of cards with no distractions. We then get half of the group to provide distractions such as banging tables, making loud noises, yelling, running around etc. Amidst the distractions the group is asked to sort the deck of cards again. This demonstrates that a task you feel is simple can become complicated when the environment around you changes. We then talk about how this transfers to a bush fire situation. We also discuss the value and benefits of practising your own Bush Fire Survival Plan with your own household.

Finally the first session is wound up with a guest speaker from the first Women’s Fire Day 8 years ago who talks about her fire plan, evacuation kit and protective clothing and most importantly her change in attitude regarding living in a bush fire prone area. She states that attending this workshop 8 years ago was a life changing event for her and her family. Increasing her knowledge about bush fires has allowed her to put in place a long term plan for her property preparation such as installing water tanks and fuel management techniques.

We then provide a simple morning tea with fruit and fruit cake with beverages. It is a chance for people to ask questions and think about some of the information they have learnt.


Between morning tea and lunch we do Bush Fire Survival Plans and a “to do” list for Property Preparation. The NSW RFS material is used for these activities.

Lunch is a sausage sizzle (gold coin donation) which male brigade members cook whilst we are at work!


After lunch we simulate a fire experience by blacking out the windows, turning the air conditioner up to maximum heat, getting people to dress in their protective clothing including cloths around their mouths, and finally through amplified speakers play the sound of a fire approaching. This exercise is aimed at getting participants to appreciate (in a very small way) how stressful and challenging defending a property could be.


Once dressed in their protective clothing, amidst the heat and noise we ask them to continue working on their Bush Fire Survival Plans – a simple task again that is complicated by the heat and noise.

First time out - no team work

Participants are then asked to move outside into the open shed where brigade members have lit a number of spot fires (in metal drums). Participants then have to use anything they can find laying around (yes we have set it up) such as mops, buckets, shovels, blankets and even small spray bottles and backpack style spray packs to put out the spot fires. This shows the group how little water is needed to put out fires and what can be used to smother spot fires.

The group also realises how easy spot fires can reignite and that the task is harder than they assumed when confronted with numerous spot fires and no awareness of what may happen.

We take the participants back inside and discuss how they found the experience of putting out the spot fires. While we are doing this the brigade members are reigniting the spot fires.

2nd time out team work started to happen

The group is then sent out again to put out the spot fires. This time you can see them start to work as a team and in a more orderly manner. The group has a better understanding of what is involved and what is effective in putting out spot fires.


The participants also get to put out a kitchen fire and learn the risks of not doing this properly.


Pumps are then explained by a brigade member including maintenance issues then everyone practises priming pumps, turning them on and off and using the pumped water to put out larger spot fires. Hose sizes and friction are also discussed and experienced.

At the end of the day we specifically discuss how to keep informed about the Fire Danger Rating, such as the radio, NSW RFS web site and talking to friends nearby. We do an evaluation and organise property visits for those who are interested one month later to assist with property protection ideas.

There is a secondary value to going to their property and undertaking a property inspection with them. It increases their knowledge and awareness so they will talk to their friends and family when visiting their properties as well.

At the end of the day it is interesting to see who is still going to Stay and Defend, who is going to undertake more property preparedness and who will now be completing their Bush Fire Survival Plans. This is also followed up when we attend for a property inspection.

Some feedback from past participants

• Most helpful: action plan guide and practical demonstrations of spot fire fighting & pump use.

• Having come - actually thinking about a plan (instead of on the “get round to it” list).


• Seeing/using/starting a fire pump (never seen one before).



• Meeting local RFS Members – do feel more comfortable to contact for help/advice.



Yes some men participated too!



• Learning how to prepare survival kit. How real a fire can get & what to do. Experience with a fire pump. I feel more confident knowing what I learnt today.

• Realised what equipment I need and now finding it less daunting to operate on my own.

• I feel that implementing what I have learnt will make me feel safer.

• This course has made me aware of how real and scary situations can be. It has shown me how to prepare my house, property & myself to survive if a fire comes through.

• I found almost all aspects of today’s training extremely helpful. Thinking about dealing with stress levels & noise. Committing to a decision of either leaving early or stay & defend. Maintenance of fire fighting equipment I now realise is as big a priority as anything.

• Being prepared and establishing a routine of what to do in the event!

• BIG THANK YOU! For your time, knowledge and friendliness.

• Thank you for taking the time to give us all such valuable information on fire protection. It was great to have the instruction and hands on experience a month ago and especially good to have you both come and look at our homes. I am sure we are now in a better position to know what to expect and how to cope (leave early ...... !). Even if improvements and plans have not immediately been implemented, it is definitely on my mind and I feel I have a direction in mind to organise and plan for a fire event. I do so appreciate the efforts both you and your colleagues put in to protecting us, our homes and the environment.

Frances Crown

BSc, GradDip AdEd, MAppSci

Canyonleigh Rural Fire Service

For more information about the Canyonleigh Women’s Fire Awareness Training Day please email Community.Engagement@rfs.nsw.gov.au