VFBV

CFA Media release - Thursday, 21 April 2016

Victorians are invited to pay respect to the state’s fallen firefighters by attending the Annual Memorial Service for Firefighters on Sunday, 1 May.

Memorial services are held in a different regional centre each year, with the 2016 service to be held in Wodonga.

CFA Chief Executive Officer Lucinda Nolan said the service was dedicated to remembering firefighters who had given their lives in the line of duty.

“There are 67 members who have lost their lives through service to the community,” Ms Nolan said.

“The number of people directly affected by this loss is even greater, and we pay our respects to their friends, families and loved ones.

“More broadly, it’s a time to honour the personal sacrifices and commitment that our firefighters make each and every day.

“We are forever changed by each of these losses and lessons we’ve learned as a result continue to shape our organisation.”

CFA Chief Officer Joe Buffone said the service would also mark the 10-year anniversary of the deaths of Barnawartha Fire Brigade member Rebecca Helwig and former Campbell’s Creek Urban Fire Brigade Captain Trevor Day.

“The passing of both members in separate accidents in 2006 hit the CFA community hard,” Mr Buffone said.   

“It is a constant reminder of the inherent dangers posed by not just firefighting, but within any emergency services organisation.”

Three new CFA memorial banners will be unveiled at this year’s service as a representation of CFA’s memorial wall.

The memorial is held on the Sunday closest to International Firefighters’ Day, known as St Florian’s Day (4 May).

This will be the 18^th service held in regional Victoria with the 2015 service held in Ballarat.

The service will be held from 2pm at the Sacred Heart Church, Beechworth Road, Wodonga.

Think about the volunteers you look up to; the volunteers you admire the most. The ones who have given distinguished service to CFA, volunteers and the community.

The Australian Fire Services Medal is worthy recognition for those special volunteers, and reflects well on their Brigade and all CFA volunteers.

CFA is now gathering nominations for the Australian Fire Service Medal (AFSM) for the Queen’s Birthday Honours 2016.

Nominations must be in by 1 November 2015.

All volunteers, auxiliary members and full-time staff of CFA are eligible for the medal. The Australian Fire Service Medal is not reserved for senior officers – it is open to all levels of CFA.

The sole criterion for the award of the Australian Fire Service Medal is distinguished service.

“Distinguished service” includes service that is above and beyond the normal zealous and faithful discharge of normal or ordinary service, whether short term or prolonged. It could be a special achievement or success in the performance of duty in difficult or unusual circumstances, or sustained high-level performance with outcomes and recognisable benefits to CFA, the fire service in general or the community. The service must be exceptional. Long service should not be used as a basis for making nominations.

See below to download the AFSM Nomination Form, the Nominator’s Guide and the Nomination Guidelines.

UPDATED 5 May - click here to see the Ballarat Courier's coverage of the CFA Memorial Service on Sunday

Council of Australian Volunteer Fire Associations

MEDIA STATEMENT

1 May, 2015

VOLUNTEERS REMEMBER EMERGENCY SERVICES PERSONNEL WHO HAVE LOST THEIR LIVES

Representatives of Australia’s 250,000 volunteer fire-fighters have taken part in the inaugural National Memorial Service for Fire and Emergency Services Personnel in Canberra.

Council of Australian Volunteer Fire Associations (CAVFA) Director Hans van Hamond AFSM and CAVFA Secretary, Bruce Corbett laid a wreath on behalf of their 11 volunteer associations.

“This an important opportunity to remember and show respect to all emergency workers who have lost their lives while protecting the community,” Mr van Hamond said.

“Recent decades have brought better technology, growing professional skills and a safety culture among volunteer and career fire-fighters everywhere, but they still face significant hazards in protecting the community,” he said.

“The enduring memory of those who have lost their lives protecting others is an important part of our focus on the welfare of all emergency workers, and as volunteers we welcome the opportunity this memorial service presents to remember those who have been lost.”

The inaugural memorial service was run by the Australasian Fire and Emergency Service Authorities Council (AFAC), and attended by Members of Parliament, CAVFA representatives and the Chief Officers and CEOs of fire and emergency services from around Australia.

Additional information:

The Council of Australian Volunteer Fire Associations (CAVFA) is an alliance of 11 volunteer fire brigade associations within Australia. The Council was established to give volunteer fire-fighters a united voice in representations with government and key stakeholders.

The inaugural National Memorial Service for Fire and Emergency Services Personnel took place at the National Emergency Services Memorial, by Lake Burleigh Griffin in Canberra, at 8.45 am on Friday, 1 May 2015.

All members and families are invited to the Annual Memorial Service for Firefighters on Sunday, 3 May 2015, at 2.00 pm.

The service will be held at St Patrick’s Cathedral, 3 Lyons Street, Ballarat, VicRoads Map 566 Ref C8.

The dress code is CFA uniform or smart casual, and anyone wishing to attend should RSVP by Thursday, 16 April 2015, via email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call 1800 232 636.

UPDATED 10 April 2015 - Answers to volunteers' questions

Download the FAQ sheet below

CFA has moved to drop the service award upgrade kits that have been in use since 2008 - volunteers reaching milestones such as 15, 20 and 25 years’ service will now receive a complete new service medal, ribbon bar and lapel badge to replace their old one.

The upgrade kits required the member to have a new bar sewn onto their existing medal ribbon, and were seen by many members as an inappropriate way to recognise such significant service to CFA and their communities. 

VFBV has been working with CFA for some time now, advocating our desire for the awarding of complete medals and not expecting members to sew on their own medal bars.  VFBV is grateful to CFA for approving this request, and agreeing to fund it, as we believe this change to be a significant improvement to the way long serving members are recognised.

This change will be automatic for all new medals awarded as of now.

For any questions or feedback, email: cfa‐This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call 1800 232 636.

Frequently Asked Questions (Provided by CFA)

From the 1^st May 2015, members eligible for Service Awards (including Life Members) will now receive a full award set in place of the service award upgrade kits which were introduced to CFA in 2008.

1. Will members who have their medals court mounted need to have them re-mounted every five years to incorporate the newly award medal?

No, members will not have to have their medals re-mounted. Medal mounting companies may purchase clasps for the main size medal directly from CFA at $2.00 each +GST. This would mean that the member could keep the newly presented award set in full. The medals which are mounted can then be updated with the clasp of the appropriate years of service.

Rosettes for the ribbon bars are also available for purchase at $1.10 each +GST.

2. Will members be required to return their previous medal?

No, members who have previously received CFA Service Awards or Life Member award may keep them and do not have to return them to CFA. Upgrade kits that were previously awarded will not be recalled.

3. Will other members get my second hand award set?

No, second hand award sets will not be presented to members. Each member is eligible for a new award set at each anniversary date.

4. Do members have to remove their previously awarded service medal?

Yes, Brigades are required to ensure that members remove past service awards at the presentation of the new service award. In accordance with CFA tradition, the new award/medal replaces the previous service medal. It is not appropriate to wear multiple CFA service medals at the same time.  Further information on wearing honours, please refer to the ‘How to wear Honours and Awards’ booklet which is available through Brigades Online.

File path: Brigades Online > Brigade > Service History & Awards > About the Awards

5. Will members who have previously received the upgrade kit be retrospectively awarded a full award set?

No, Members will receive the full award set at their next anniversary date from 1^st May 2015 onwards. Members are to continue to utilise the upgrade kits until they will be awarded the full award set at their next anniversary date.

The Emergency Service Foundation has announced that applications are now being accepted for this year’s Emergency Services Foundation’s Volunteer Leaders' Forum.

The event will be based at the St Kilda Novotel on Saturday and Sunday, 2/3 May 2015.

The program includes leadership talks and workshops, bus tours to some major emergency management sites around Melbourne and the always popular Chief Officers’ panel.

Click here for the full program

Delegates will receive free accommodation at the hotel (generally twin share) on the Friday and Saturday nights. 

All meals are provided on Saturday and Sunday, including the BBQ and USAR display on Saturday evening.

Numbers will be tight this year, so you are urged to complete the application form in the flyer and get it back to the secretariat as soon as possible.

Successful applicants will be advised by Friday, 17 April 2015.

CFA has extended the feedback deadline on its proposal for a Service Delivery Strategy until 30 September and VFBV is pressing for even more time. VFBV expects that most Brigades will not have had a chance to review this document yet and have raised this as a concern with the CFA Chief Officer.

There's a discussion paper and a survey available on the CFA intranet and Brigades Online (About CFA>Service Delivery>Service Delivery Strategy).

After considering the feedback, CFA plans to draft the strategy, then seek further comment on the draft strategy before finalising it later this year.

The discussion paper considers issues that will influence the decisions in the strategy, including; trends in population, settlement, climate change and extreme weather, volunteerism and technology, and possible directions for CFA and the emergency service sector over the coming decades.

The issues are important to the future of CFA, volunteering and the emergency services. CFA are hoping that many Brigades will read the discussion paper and consider providing input before they begin work on drafting the final strategy.

VFBV will be working with CFA to consider feedback.

The much anticipated CFA Honours and Awards poster and manual became available early in 2013.

They were a working collaboration between CFA and VFBV, and have brought surety and transparency to the Honours and Awards system.

The manual offers details of the criteria for awarding a variety of Honours and Awards, with categories including  Bravery and Valour, Distinguished Service, Long Service and Notable Awards.

You can download the Manual and Wall Poster below.

CFA invites you and members of your family to attend the

Annual Memorial Service for Firefighters

Sunday, 5 May 2013, at 2pm.

The service will be held at St Johns Anglican Church

1 St Georges Road

Upper Beaconsfield

(Cnr Beaconsfield - Emerald Road and St Georges Road)

Melway Ed 39 Map 210 H12

Light refreshments will be provided afterwards.

Dress: CFA uniform or smart casual

RSVP: Monday 22nd April 2013 via email

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call 9262 8211.