Following his experiences during the Blue Mountains fires in October, Chris Garlick, President of the NSW RFS Yarrumundi Brigade, shares his thoughts about community engagement.
Showing posts with label Community Engagement. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Community Engagement. Show all posts
11 December 2013
04 December 2013
Call for abstracts for the 2014 Australian Community Engagement and Fire Awareness Conference
The NSW Rural Fire Service is inviting submissions for abstracts, posters and videos for the 2014 Australian Community Engagement and Fire Awareness (ACEFA) Conference.
03 December 2013
Reflecting on the Community Engagement Regional Forums
Forbes. Wagga Wagga, Rooty Hill. Coffs Harbour.
The Forums are over for 2013 and the focus now shifts to the Conference in May next year. But first, Community Engagement Coordinator Tony Jarrett reflects on the Forums.
The Forums are over for 2013 and the focus now shifts to the Conference in May next year. But first, Community Engagement Coordinator Tony Jarrett reflects on the Forums.
28 November 2013
Australian Community Engagement and Fire Awareness Conference
It is with great excitement that the Community Engagement Team announces that the 17th Australian Community Engagement and Fire Awareness Conference will be held in 2014!
22 November 2013
A CFU for the Bellbrook Aboriginal Mission
During celebrations for NAIDOC Day this year, the NSW Rural Fire Service presented the Bellbrook Aboriginal mission with brand new equipment for a Community Fire Unit (CFU).
20 November 2013
A bush fire themed snakes and ladders game
To help educate children on bush fire awareness Peter Farry, Secretary of the Lavington Brigade, developed a fun and interactive community engagement tool – a bush fire themed game of snakes and ladders.
05 November 2013
2013 Open Day photo competition
NSW RFS Open Day was a big hit this year with over 350 brigades participating and that resulted in some fantastic entries for the Open Day photo competition.
10 July 2013
2013 Community Engagement Regional Forums
Community Engagement are conducting Regional Forums and you're invited.Regional Forums give staff and volunteers with a passion for community safety the opportunity to:
- Be inspired with fresh new ideas about how to drive the bush fire safety message home in your community;
- Learn from neighbouring Districts' experiences; and
- Hear from knowledgeable speakers
13 June 2013
Community Engagement Best Practice: Sharing Between Emergency Services
In late May, the Ministry for Police and Emergency Services (MPES) launched the Case Study Library for Community Engagement.
This case study library provides examples of community engagement projects and practices undertaken by agencies within the NSW emergency management sector. It is hoped that the library will raise awareness and promote information sharing on ways to effectively engage communities in disaster planning, preparedness, response and recovery.
This case study library provides examples of community engagement projects and practices undertaken by agencies within the NSW emergency management sector. It is hoped that the library will raise awareness and promote information sharing on ways to effectively engage communities in disaster planning, preparedness, response and recovery.
01 February 2013
Workshop for horse owners
Kate has developed a Bushfire Safety program for horse owners that has been welcomed by members of the equestrian community. It was Kate’s course and handout that inspired the new ‘Prepare your horse for bush fire’ brochure, released in late December and now available for order on the NSW Rural Fire Service (RFS) Resources Order Form.
09 November 2012
Mount Hunter Bush Fire Survival Awareness Program
Ryan Clarkstone from Mount Hunter Rural Fire Brigade shares their Bush Fire Survival Awareness Program and describes what worked, what they would change and how the community has responded.
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| Participants in the Mt Hunter workshop learn how to put out spot fires |
24 October 2012
High Risk Roads: A Cudgegong District approach
We interviewed Jayne Leary (District Services Officer, Cudgegong District) about a recent workshop tailored to a community living on a high risk road. Subscribe to Engagement Matters before the October edition is released, to learn more about Jayne's other community engagement programs.
05 October 2012
Bush Fire Danger Period – it’s here!
Since 2009, the NSW Rural Fire Service (NSW RFS) has been running the 'Prepare. Act. Survive.' public awareness campaign, with the aim to increase community awareness about the risk of bush fires; knowing the Fire Danger Ratings and having a Bush Fire Survival Plan. After measurable success, this three-year campaign has since concluded, with a brand new campaign being launched.
On 16th October 2012 the Police and Emergency Services Minister Michael Gallacher formally launched the new NSW RFS public awareness campaign, reminding the public of the need for a completed Bush Fire Survival Plan.
On 16th October 2012 the Police and Emergency Services Minister Michael Gallacher formally launched the new NSW RFS public awareness campaign, reminding the public of the need for a completed Bush Fire Survival Plan.
17 September 2012
Open Day vs 'Closed Day'
Open Day kits have gone out and we know you are in the last stages of preparation. Exciting!
Below are 6 tips to help you to create an ‘open’ and engaging event (as opposed to a ‘closed’ event that feels like a one-sided information day).
Below are 6 tips to help you to create an ‘open’ and engaging event (as opposed to a ‘closed’ event that feels like a one-sided information day).
30 August 2012
Can you read this?
In Australia, literacy levels are likely to decrease with age, and levels of literacy are lower in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Communities and Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Communities. People can also have other conditions or a disability that impacts their ability to read.
People with low literacy can often only read short pieces of text and understand one specific piece of information at a time. If text isn't written in clear language and presented in a simple layout, they may have trouble understanding it.
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| Would a person with limited English skills be able to understand our factsheets if they received it in the mail? |
Think about the way we share information about bush fires with the community. Some of our methods include:
- websites and social media
- factsheets and brochures
- posters and signs
- events such as the NSW Rural Fire Service Open Day
- community and street meetings
- doorknocks
- property assessments
- working with community or FireWise groups.
Review this list and think about how someone would learn about bush fires through each method if they couldn't read, or could only read at a basic level. Do we use simple English, or have we used jargon and complex words that someone with only a basic understanding of English might not understand?
People with low levels of literacy may be unwilling to admit it because they are embarrassed. Often when given information they will take it and indicate they understand and are able to use the resources. Because they rely on receiving information by word-of-mouth, much of the information they receive is secondhand and less reliable. This means they may not be prepared for a bush fire.
Look for clues that people may not be able to read. They may express frustration when asked to fill out a plan or an evaluation form. Things that you could listen for might include:
- “I’ll sign us all in”
- “I left my glasses at home”
- “I need to take the comment sheet home and think about it then I’ll mail it back”
- “I want to tell you what I think”
- “Tell me how this will affect me”.
Printed information is really important but we do need to be aware of its limitations. By including photos, diagrams, graphics and videos, we can explain our message to people that may have difficulty reading. For people that can read to a basic level, the pictures and diagrams will help them understand more of the message we are trying to share. Use simple English where possible. If you are using a complex word or phrase, explain what it means the first time you use it.
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| Use photos, graphics and video to demonstrate key messages |
Whether someone can read or not, the best and most effective way to communicate is face-to-face, and you can use radio or audio recordings as well. People may find it easier to listen than to read, so using audio resources is another option we should always consider.
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| This display at the Hawkesbury Show incorporates text, video, photos and diagrams to share information |
Be considerate with the amount of written information you hand out. Too much can be daunting or end up in a pile that people 'intend' to read.
Don't forget: illiteracy is not an intellectual disability. A person may be illiterate because they didn't have access to education, or English may be their second language. Make an effort to know your audience, as you may find out that you need to be more creative in how you share your information with the community.
22 June 2012
Commissioner interviewed about community engagement
We are sharing interviews on community engagement with key people in the NSW Rural Fire Service (RFS) on the Building Community Resilience blog.
This interview is with NSW RFS Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons AFSM.
2. Did the Victorian fires change our approach to working with communities? If yes, how?
Nationally we certainly learnt from that tragedy. We came together in a very, very short time period and realised the need for more concise, more simplified, and more consistent language to alert people to their vulnerability and to make sure at risk communities understand they have a key role in managing fire.
Before the Victorian fires NSW was doing very well when it came to development control, planning assessments and building in bush fire prone areas. Our integrated fire fighting and state emergency management arrangements made everyone’s responsibilities very clear. The enormity of the Victorian tragedy mandated that we all needed to do more – and we have.
3. How could members encourage their brigades to get involved in community engagement activities?
I see some wonderful community engagement programs at brigade level across NSW and I think we need to continue to market and promote the positive results and the initiatives being done by individual brigades. Increasingly at the Annual General Meeting there are individuals, or a number of individuals, identified and voted in as Community Engagement Coordinators for their areas and it is being recognised as an important role in local brigades.
Depending on your brigade and your classification as a brigade your community engagement activity will vary considerably. What occurs in a village type brigade or a remote rural brigade will obviously be somewhat different because of the population or geography. Leveraging off each other, seeing what other people are doing, seeing what other brigades are doing, accessing some of the community engagement resources and better understanding what sort of things you can do as a brigade is really important.
4. How can we encourage our members to share their good stories?
We have members across the state that are doing wonderful things everyday but they don’t gloat about them, they don’t put their hands up and say we have a wonderful thing going on, they just do it.
We usually rely on District Managers and other senior people of the District to say, “hey there’s a good thing happening in our area”, simply because a lot of community engagement people aren’t inclined to promote what they do. They may regard it as everyday business whereas someone else may see it as worth talking about. The community engagement forums are effective in sharing and exchanging ideas with other community engagement people, but how much of that goes out to the broader organisation is unknown.
It’s the same for any of our focus areas, for example our aviation people know what’s new and happening in the Aviation business, but I suspect there are many in the organisation that wouldn’t have a clue. We should be targeting this wider audience as well.
We are looking at a new newsletter that will introduce new and wonderful things going on across the State. There will be news snippets and if people want to read more about a particular note, they will be able to click onto a hyperlink and read a more detailed story about what the brigade or member is doing.
5. What is your opinion on people that want to join a brigade and don’t want to qualify for Basic Fire-fighter (BF), but would like to undertake a support role?
The classic example I would use is from a Brigade close to home about 5-6 years ago. Every time there was a bad fire weather day, the local brigade was relied upon to send crews up to the top of the fire tower. They kept a visual out for smoke and then radioed reports back as an early detection system. The local Captain there at the time questioned why he was sending crews up the tower on bad fire days when in fact he needed fire fighters on the truck in case a fire started.
The Brigade put a little note in the local community newsletter, asking residents if they would like to play an important role in the RFS. They asked if anyone wanted to volunteer to assist their community and the RFS but didn’t want to get involved with actual fire fighting. They just needed to undertake some basic fire awareness training and not be afraid of heights, do some training in map reading, radios, etc.
The Brigade was inundated with people that wanted to do something different. There were retired members who had stopped fire fighting and people who have always wanted to get involved but were fearful of the fire fighting. They came on board and did their training courses on map reading and how to use a radio, some basic fire knowledge (wind effect on smoke, etc). They became a Tower Brigade and the tower is staffed regularly every time there is a TOBAN or a bad weather day and it all comes without having to compromise the fire fighting workforce.
I am a big supporter for making sure we continue to diversify roles and recognise diversification of roles and functions in this organisation. There is an old adage in the military that says something like “for every person out in the field holding the rifle, there are three to five other people doing really important roles to make sure that soldier is serviced, protected and looked after”. We are no different and we have an army of people that need to come together, whether it’s catering, community engagement, communications, fire protection, mitigation or technologies, and I am a very big supporter of it.
6. Do you think brigades would benefit from having community engagement training in areas such as our key messages and products such as Neighbourhood Safer Places?
I think it’s critically important. It should be done as part of brigade training and brigade familiarisation. Also at certain times of the year we could update everybody on the key messages and send some posters or fact sheets out to the stations to hang on the walls, carry in their pockets, as well as having them all available on MyRFS. Then everyone has a quick reference point.
I remember very vividly one of the skits at a previous Community Engagement Conference at Newcastle where they did role plays. Members in the role play weren’t quite aware of what the messages were and the poor community member was trying to get from fire fighters what the message meant. If our fire fighters don’t have knowledge and make it up, dismiss or belittle the information, then the whole thing is lost and we lose a good opportunity to help make people safer.
7. Are there any groups in the community that are a priority to engage with?
It is obviously a priority to engage with those that live, work or travel in bush fire prone areas, but particularly we need to look at our vulnerable community members. We need to look at what options are available to them and what treatments can be delivered. I think we will benefit from the new work we are doing on Community Protection Plans. They will enable us to take a more detailed look at our communities and work more closely with them. Part of the benefits of delivering Community Protection Plans is working with Brigades and community members to identify their risks and what treatments are available, and what individuals can do on their property or when working as a collective with neighbours.
We have just been through the two wettest successive years on record in NSW. With all that moisture, which is very widespread, we have an abundance of grassland growth the likes of which we have not seen for 30-40 years. In some areas that 30-40 years difference is a generational change and you’re dealing with people that will have very limited experience of fire in their area. For the last 20 years with extraordinary, protracted drought situations the risk has been moderated significantly by the absence of fuel on the ground. We have to take a good look at grassland communities.
8. How do you think a history of doing community engagement with a community helps with other fire fighting and brigade activities?
There is a multi faceted benefit to the local brigade. Firstly the local Brigade can build trust and familiarity with members of the community. There is also a reciprocated awareness for Brigades of knowing who in the community is doing what and how engaged and capable they are. From this they will know how prepared a particular community and individuals or groups therein, actually are.
At the end of the day our brigades are a key part of their local community.
9. Is there any message you would like to give to our members passionate about community engagement?
I would like to commend community engagement people and their colleagues in all other streams of the RFS business, who have been at it for a long time. Years ago we started out with community education and engagement at such a rudimentary level, but the transformation in approach, the transformation in techniques, materials and messages has all been quite extraordinary. There is no doubt that when you see well informed, well prepared and well engaged communities impacted by fire matched with a good fire fighting effort you get really good results in that local community.
I think our community engagement members ought to be very proud of the role they play in the RFS and in making a difference in the communities across NSW. Our community engagement conference is so well regarded it is one of the most popular programs attended not just by people from NSW but from colleagues across Australia and beyond. I think that speaks volumes. My simple message would be a big congrats and keep up the good work because there is still a lot to be done.
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| Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons AFSM |
This interview is with NSW RFS Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons AFSM.
1. Why does the NSW RFS do community engagement?
The Rural Fire Service is in the business of community engagement because it is a key part of the fire management package.
'You can’t have a well informed and a well serviced community if you don’t engage meaningfully in educating that community."More importantly we should be engaging them in doing their part to help improve their personal safety, as well as the safety of the community, the RFS and other Emergency Service agencies.
2. Did the Victorian fires change our approach to working with communities? If yes, how?
Nationally we certainly learnt from that tragedy. We came together in a very, very short time period and realised the need for more concise, more simplified, and more consistent language to alert people to their vulnerability and to make sure at risk communities understand they have a key role in managing fire.
It has certainly strengthened our approach in many areas. There have been changes to the way we communicate public information during fire events. We have also started to prepare local community protection plans where we profile local communities and seek to tailor solutions or treatments that will work best for them.
There is no doubt that the Victorian experience has seen us take a more proactive approach to community engagement and initiatives like Neighbourhood Safer Places and Community Protection Plans. We have ‘one stop shop’ information in our customer service centres to assist Districts and community members and we have improved accessibility to online tools. These tools will help people to understand their level of exposure and the sort of things they should be doing to prepare for and better protect themselves from fire.
Before the Victorian fires NSW was doing very well when it came to development control, planning assessments and building in bush fire prone areas. Our integrated fire fighting and state emergency management arrangements made everyone’s responsibilities very clear. The enormity of the Victorian tragedy mandated that we all needed to do more – and we have.
3. How could members encourage their brigades to get involved in community engagement activities?
I see some wonderful community engagement programs at brigade level across NSW and I think we need to continue to market and promote the positive results and the initiatives being done by individual brigades. Increasingly at the Annual General Meeting there are individuals, or a number of individuals, identified and voted in as Community Engagement Coordinators for their areas and it is being recognised as an important role in local brigades.
Depending on your brigade and your classification as a brigade your community engagement activity will vary considerably. What occurs in a village type brigade or a remote rural brigade will obviously be somewhat different because of the population or geography. Leveraging off each other, seeing what other people are doing, seeing what other brigades are doing, accessing some of the community engagement resources and better understanding what sort of things you can do as a brigade is really important.
 |
| There are many roles for Brigade members (Penrose Brigade) |
"We are being very deliberate in looking at our flexible membership model. We need to have more recognition of the importance of non traditional fire fighting roles. Having a well informed and a well prepared community is equally important to fire fighting. Recognising the equality, importance and value of community engagement at an organisational level is really important."
4. How can we encourage our members to share their good stories?
We have members across the state that are doing wonderful things everyday but they don’t gloat about them, they don’t put their hands up and say we have a wonderful thing going on, they just do it.
We usually rely on District Managers and other senior people of the District to say, “hey there’s a good thing happening in our area”, simply because a lot of community engagement people aren’t inclined to promote what they do. They may regard it as everyday business whereas someone else may see it as worth talking about. The community engagement forums are effective in sharing and exchanging ideas with other community engagement people, but how much of that goes out to the broader organisation is unknown.
It’s the same for any of our focus areas, for example our aviation people know what’s new and happening in the Aviation business, but I suspect there are many in the organisation that wouldn’t have a clue. We should be targeting this wider audience as well.
We are looking at a new newsletter that will introduce new and wonderful things going on across the State. There will be news snippets and if people want to read more about a particular note, they will be able to click onto a hyperlink and read a more detailed story about what the brigade or member is doing.
5. What is your opinion on people that want to join a brigade and don’t want to qualify for Basic Fire-fighter (BF), but would like to undertake a support role?
"I have been outspoken about this for a long time now and I think it is critical to our future. We need to advertise and promote the Flexible Membership Model, which values and recognises so many other roles in our organisation other than fire fighting."
The classic example I would use is from a Brigade close to home about 5-6 years ago. Every time there was a bad fire weather day, the local brigade was relied upon to send crews up to the top of the fire tower. They kept a visual out for smoke and then radioed reports back as an early detection system. The local Captain there at the time questioned why he was sending crews up the tower on bad fire days when in fact he needed fire fighters on the truck in case a fire started.
The Brigade put a little note in the local community newsletter, asking residents if they would like to play an important role in the RFS. They asked if anyone wanted to volunteer to assist their community and the RFS but didn’t want to get involved with actual fire fighting. They just needed to undertake some basic fire awareness training and not be afraid of heights, do some training in map reading, radios, etc.
The Brigade was inundated with people that wanted to do something different. There were retired members who had stopped fire fighting and people who have always wanted to get involved but were fearful of the fire fighting. They came on board and did their training courses on map reading and how to use a radio, some basic fire knowledge (wind effect on smoke, etc). They became a Tower Brigade and the tower is staffed regularly every time there is a TOBAN or a bad weather day and it all comes without having to compromise the fire fighting workforce.
I am a big supporter for making sure we continue to diversify roles and recognise diversification of roles and functions in this organisation. There is an old adage in the military that says something like “for every person out in the field holding the rifle, there are three to five other people doing really important roles to make sure that soldier is serviced, protected and looked after”. We are no different and we have an army of people that need to come together, whether it’s catering, community engagement, communications, fire protection, mitigation or technologies, and I am a very big supporter of it.
6. Do you think brigades would benefit from having community engagement training in areas such as our key messages and products such as Neighbourhood Safer Places?
I think it’s critically important. It should be done as part of brigade training and brigade familiarisation. Also at certain times of the year we could update everybody on the key messages and send some posters or fact sheets out to the stations to hang on the walls, carry in their pockets, as well as having them all available on MyRFS. Then everyone has a quick reference point.
I remember very vividly one of the skits at a previous Community Engagement Conference at Newcastle where they did role plays. Members in the role play weren’t quite aware of what the messages were and the poor community member was trying to get from fire fighters what the message meant. If our fire fighters don’t have knowledge and make it up, dismiss or belittle the information, then the whole thing is lost and we lose a good opportunity to help make people safer.
7. Are there any groups in the community that are a priority to engage with?
It is obviously a priority to engage with those that live, work or travel in bush fire prone areas, but particularly we need to look at our vulnerable community members. We need to look at what options are available to them and what treatments can be delivered. I think we will benefit from the new work we are doing on Community Protection Plans. They will enable us to take a more detailed look at our communities and work more closely with them. Part of the benefits of delivering Community Protection Plans is working with Brigades and community members to identify their risks and what treatments are available, and what individuals can do on their property or when working as a collective with neighbours.
 |
| Workshopping Community Protection Plans at the 2012 ACE&FA Conference |
8. How do you think a history of doing community engagement with a community helps with other fire fighting and brigade activities?
There is a multi faceted benefit to the local brigade. Firstly the local Brigade can build trust and familiarity with members of the community. There is also a reciprocated awareness for Brigades of knowing who in the community is doing what and how engaged and capable they are. From this they will know how prepared a particular community and individuals or groups therein, actually are.
"I’ve also seen brigade community engagement activities or programs that have inspired the community to join their local brigade, become active in their local brigade or to become good fire fighters in their local brigade. This also brings community members together. Neighbours are introduced to each other, collaborate on different things, and work with the brigade to deliver shared treatment regimes to protect the community, not necessarily just for individuals."
9. Is there any message you would like to give to our members passionate about community engagement?
I would like to commend community engagement people and their colleagues in all other streams of the RFS business, who have been at it for a long time. Years ago we started out with community education and engagement at such a rudimentary level, but the transformation in approach, the transformation in techniques, materials and messages has all been quite extraordinary. There is no doubt that when you see well informed, well prepared and well engaged communities impacted by fire matched with a good fire fighting effort you get really good results in that local community.
01 June 2012
Community engagement program winners RFSfireup2012
Four of our Community Engagement Programmes received awards. HUGE congrats Otford, Wollombi, Kenthurst and Canyonleigh Brigades! RFSfireup2012
Taken from Engagement Matters (an e-newsletter for members of the NSW RFS)
Good news stories: Award winners
This year we introduced the Community Engagement Program Awards, which were awarded at our conference. We would like to congratulate and thank the following brigades for the quality of work they are doing in their communities:
· Kenthurst RFB
· Canyonleigh RFB
· Wollombi RFB
· Otford RFB.
These brigades were found to be running programs that were considered outstanding against the selection criteria below.
· Evaluation and continuous improvement as part of their programme.
· Actively sought to share their programme with other brigades.
· Delivered the programme over several years.
· Worked to involve brigade members and their skills in their programme.
Canyonleigh Rural Fire Brigade's ‘Women’s Bush Fire Awareness Program’ encourages all brigade members to contribute and has now been running successfully for a few years. Workshops run through fire behaviour, preparing yourself and your property, hands on skills training and property assessments in the following months.
Wollombi Rural Fire Brigade’s ‘Community Preparedness Program’ consists of workshops (including one for women only) followed up by a Firewise cafe, where people are introduced to the risks of bush fire,the importance of preparing a Bush Fire Survival Plan and factors they need to consider when deciding whether to Leave Early or Stay and Defend. Follow-up surveys have found that 94% of attendees completed a Bush Fire Survival Plan or felt they had sufficient knowledge to complete one following the workshop. A core feature is robust planning and adaptation to local needs. The brigade strongly supports shared learnings and the program contains a strong element of evaluation.
Otford Rural Fire Brigade’s ‘Urban Interface Program’ is cleverly marketed as pre-incident planning. The program includes bowling hoses, intelligence gathering and community engagement all rolled into one. All brigade members are involved and improves their knowledge of property access and defendability. This is an ongoing program for the Otford Brigade who plan to visit the majority of properties in the area. Residents are encouraged to take responsibility for their own property, complete a Bush Fire Survival Plan and ensure their property has suitable access. The program has been shared with other brigades and improves brigade familiarisation with the area.
Taken from Engagement Matters (an e-newsletter for members of the NSW RFS)
Good news stories: Award winners
This year we introduced the Community Engagement Program Awards, which were awarded at our conference. We would like to congratulate and thank the following brigades for the quality of work they are doing in their communities:
· Kenthurst RFB
· Canyonleigh RFB
· Wollombi RFB
· Otford RFB.
These brigades were found to be running programs that were considered outstanding against the selection criteria below.
· Evaluation and continuous improvement as part of their programme.
· Actively sought to share their programme with other brigades.
· Delivered the programme over several years.
· Worked to involve brigade members and their skills in their programme.
Kenthurst Rural Fire Brigade’s ‘Community Inclusion Programme’ encouraged the community to take responsibility for their own preparedness. A letter box drop is used to promote workshops that run through fire behaviour, preparing your property and Bush Fire Survival Plan, and includes a site visit to look at a prepared home and run through how to use pumps and hoses. This program includes live demonstrations so that participants can experience what radiant heat feels like, and practice techniques to put out fires. The Brigade prepared a DVD and has visited other brigades to share the program.
Canyonleigh Rural Fire Brigade's ‘Women’s Bush Fire Awareness Program’ encourages all brigade members to contribute and has now been running successfully for a few years. Workshops run through fire behaviour, preparing yourself and your property, hands on skills training and property assessments in the following months.
The workshops are effective because of their hands-on nature. Women are expected to complete activities under stress created by loud noises, time pressure, heat and darkness, giving them a taste for what it will be like to make a decision when there is a fire. This multi-award winning transfers skills to the community, with an emphasis on warmth, welcome and follow-up with participants.
Wollombi Rural Fire Brigade’s ‘Community Preparedness Program’ consists of workshops (including one for women only) followed up by a Firewise cafe, where people are introduced to the risks of bush fire,the importance of preparing a Bush Fire Survival Plan and factors they need to consider when deciding whether to Leave Early or Stay and Defend. Follow-up surveys have found that 94% of attendees completed a Bush Fire Survival Plan or felt they had sufficient knowledge to complete one following the workshop. A core feature is robust planning and adaptation to local needs. The brigade strongly supports shared learnings and the program contains a strong element of evaluation.
Otford Rural Fire Brigade’s ‘Urban Interface Program’ is cleverly marketed as pre-incident planning. The program includes bowling hoses, intelligence gathering and community engagement all rolled into one. All brigade members are involved and improves their knowledge of property access and defendability. This is an ongoing program for the Otford Brigade who plan to visit the majority of properties in the area. Residents are encouraged to take responsibility for their own property, complete a Bush Fire Survival Plan and ensure their property has suitable access. The program has been shared with other brigades and improves brigade familiarisation with the area.28 May 2012
Agenda and conference networking tips
We are pleased to announce the agenda for the 2012 Australian Community Engagement & Fire Awareness Conference (31 May – 2 June 2012, Novotel Northbeach, North Wollongong).
Click here (http://bit.ly/hdXIs8) to download the agenda. It is not necessary to print a copy of the agenda as it is in the printed handbook (program) that each conference delegate receives.
You will see we have increased the number of workshop sessions and speakers. We suggest you spread members of your brigade or organisation across a number of these sessions in order to get the most out of the conference.
New this year is the ‘Meeting Hub’. It is a space to take a break, have a cuppa, and use those networking skills. Look at the map at the back of the agenda to see the location of the Meeting Hub.
Anton Arathoon (North Rocks Rural Fire Brigade) is a member of our Conference Working Party. We recently discussed networking and he has shared two tips below:
• Don’t be shy - If you’ve ever wanted to meet someone specific, go over and introduce yourself. What better place and time than at a conference you’re both attending?
• Be a good listener – When you talk to people about a particular topic, you’ll be surprised at what you learn. This recognises that you don’t hold all the answers.
I found this great blogpost when searching for networking tips. It’s called ‘How to Network: 12 Tips for Shy People’, mentions networking at conferences and contains tips on how to build your skills and confidence - http://bit.ly/MRvHE6.
Do you have any other networking tips to share?
Don’t forget – If you are on Twitter we have a conference hashtag of #RFSfireup2012.
See you soon!
Community Engagement Team
NSW Rural Fire Service
Click here (http://bit.ly/hdXIs8) to download the agenda. It is not necessary to print a copy of the agenda as it is in the printed handbook (program) that each conference delegate receives.
You will see we have increased the number of workshop sessions and speakers. We suggest you spread members of your brigade or organisation across a number of these sessions in order to get the most out of the conference.
New this year is the ‘Meeting Hub’. It is a space to take a break, have a cuppa, and use those networking skills. Look at the map at the back of the agenda to see the location of the Meeting Hub.
Anton Arathoon (North Rocks Rural Fire Brigade) is a member of our Conference Working Party. We recently discussed networking and he has shared two tips below:
• Don’t be shy - If you’ve ever wanted to meet someone specific, go over and introduce yourself. What better place and time than at a conference you’re both attending?
• Be a good listener – When you talk to people about a particular topic, you’ll be surprised at what you learn. This recognises that you don’t hold all the answers.
I found this great blogpost when searching for networking tips. It’s called ‘How to Network: 12 Tips for Shy People’, mentions networking at conferences and contains tips on how to build your skills and confidence - http://bit.ly/MRvHE6.
Do you have any other networking tips to share?
Don’t forget – If you are on Twitter we have a conference hashtag of #RFSfireup2012.
See you soon!
Community Engagement Team
NSW Rural Fire Service
17 May 2012
10 May 2012
Assistant Commissioner interviewed about community engagement
This month on the Building Community Resilience blog we will share several interviews on community engagement with key people in the NSW Rural Fire Service (RFS).
Our first interview is with Dominic Lane AFSM, Assistant Commissioner and Director of Regional Services.
1. Why does the RFS do community engagement?
While we may have called Community Engagement different names over the years, the RFS has a proud history of working with people to help protect their properties and communities, and help them understand key information like Fire Danger Ratings. For a long time we’ve had a proactive approach to getting the message out, with people who are passionate about community prevention and community safety and want to get involved.
2. Did the 2009 Victorian bush fires change our approach to working with communities? If yes, how?
The Victorian fires did change our approach in a way, but essentially reinforced the need to work closely with our communities. The changes were more significant for Victoria, who had encouraged people to decide between staying or leaving in a bush fire. NSW recognised that there will always be a fire where everyone needs to leave. We take a pragmatic approach to working with our communities by providing them with the information to make informed decisions about their safety and actions.
3. How could members encourage their brigade to get involved in community engagement activities?
If everyone had a base knowledge of community engagement they may be more willing to get involved. All members of the service would benefit from developing basic skills across all disciplines relevant to the Service, including fire fighting, logistics, aviation support, communications and community engagement. They could then specialise in specific fields of interest.
4. What is your opinion on people that want to join a brigade but don’t want to fight fires?
I’m a big supporter of flexible membership, where everyone has a valid role, and also support the development of community engagement brigades in areas willing to create them.
Members should complete Bush Fire Awareness training as a minimum before specialising in community engagement, as they need sufficient expertise in topics relating to bush fires to effectively engage the community on bush fire preparation.
5. Do you think brigades would benefit from having community engagement training in areas such as our key messages and products such as Neighbourhood Safer Places?
Absolutely. There is value in key messages being included as part of the standard training doctrine for Brigades, so that members understand what they should be telling the community about topics like Fire Danger Ratings and Neighbourhood Safer Places.
I believe the RFS needs to improve its understanding of community engagement and that staff and members would benefit from at least a minimum level of awareness about the aims of engagement.
6. Are there any groups in the community that are a priority to engage with?
I think grass fires will be a priority for the near future. There are farmers in the west of NSW that have started preparing fire breaks now for the next bush fire season in October. We need more farmers like that, who understand the risk we face and prepare for it. The biggest challenge in achieving change for this group is geographic isolation.
I also think we need to maintain a focus on the parts of Sydney where the bush goes right up to the edge of urban areas. There are always new people moving into high bush fire risk areas, which means we constantly need to educate people about bush fire prevention and mitigation.
7. How do you think a history of doing community engagement with a community helps with other fire fighting and brigade activities?
You can see which towns have brigades with good engagement programs. There are better relationships between the Service and local government, fire messages are displayed around town, the Brigades have a good knowledge of the community, and there is a lot of activity from proactive members recorded in the Bushfire Risk Information Management System (BRIMS).
A prepared community, one that is aware and has prepared for a bush fire so knows what to do, can be a huge benefit and make a lot of difference to when we do have to fight a fire. A prepared home is also a much safer property for our fire fighters to defend.
8. Is there any message you would like to give to our members passionate about community engagement?
Keep up the good work!
 |
| Assistant Commissioner Dominic Lane |
1. Why does the RFS do community engagement?
While we may have called Community Engagement different names over the years, the RFS has a proud history of working with people to help protect their properties and communities, and help them understand key information like Fire Danger Ratings. For a long time we’ve had a proactive approach to getting the message out, with people who are passionate about community prevention and community safety and want to get involved.
2. Did the 2009 Victorian bush fires change our approach to working with communities? If yes, how?
The Victorian fires did change our approach in a way, but essentially reinforced the need to work closely with our communities. The changes were more significant for Victoria, who had encouraged people to decide between staying or leaving in a bush fire. NSW recognised that there will always be a fire where everyone needs to leave. We take a pragmatic approach to working with our communities by providing them with the information to make informed decisions about their safety and actions.
3. How could members encourage their brigade to get involved in community engagement activities?
"It’s important to keep lifting the
profile of community engagement.
We need champions."
If everyone had a base knowledge of community engagement they may be more willing to get involved. All members of the service would benefit from developing basic skills across all disciplines relevant to the Service, including fire fighting, logistics, aviation support, communications and community engagement. They could then specialise in specific fields of interest.
4. What is your opinion on people that want to join a brigade but don’t want to fight fires?
I’m a big supporter of flexible membership, where everyone has a valid role, and also support the development of community engagement brigades in areas willing to create them.
Members should complete Bush Fire Awareness training as a minimum before specialising in community engagement, as they need sufficient expertise in topics relating to bush fires to effectively engage the community on bush fire preparation.
5. Do you think brigades would benefit from having community engagement training in areas such as our key messages and products such as Neighbourhood Safer Places?
Absolutely. There is value in key messages being included as part of the standard training doctrine for Brigades, so that members understand what they should be telling the community about topics like Fire Danger Ratings and Neighbourhood Safer Places.
I believe the RFS needs to improve its understanding of community engagement and that staff and members would benefit from at least a minimum level of awareness about the aims of engagement.
6. Are there any groups in the community that are a priority to engage with?
I think grass fires will be a priority for the near future. There are farmers in the west of NSW that have started preparing fire breaks now for the next bush fire season in October. We need more farmers like that, who understand the risk we face and prepare for it. The biggest challenge in achieving change for this group is geographic isolation.
I also think we need to maintain a focus on the parts of Sydney where the bush goes right up to the edge of urban areas. There are always new people moving into high bush fire risk areas, which means we constantly need to educate people about bush fire prevention and mitigation.
7. How do you think a history of doing community engagement with a community helps with other fire fighting and brigade activities?
"Community engagement activities strengthen
Brigades and give them a reason for being
during quiet times."
"Community engagement is not a
‘support’ role: it is core business."
A prepared community, one that is aware and has prepared for a bush fire so knows what to do, can be a huge benefit and make a lot of difference to when we do have to fight a fire. A prepared home is also a much safer property for our fire fighters to defend.
8. Is there any message you would like to give to our members passionate about community engagement?
Keep up the good work!
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