VFBV

Continuing on from our last 2 Minute Briefing the Committee has suggested refinements to the content of the survey which will canvas the attitudes towards, experiences with and brigade expectations of planned burning.

Many brigades already use planned burning as excellent training and skills maintenance activities, and recognise that participating in planned burning contributes significantly to our understanding of fire behaviour and tactics. And yet brigades do not have the ability to track, report or recognise their members’ involvement through a CFA centralized system.

Recognising there are significant limitations on how much planned burning volunteers can do  and that planned burning is a high risk activity requiring trained and experienced fire fighters and resources, the survey asks questions about brigade participation, past, present and future. The survey explores possible future brigade capacity to be more involved in planned burning operations, and the support volunteers would require, and allows members to indicate the barriers to brigade participation they see such as volunteer availability, access to training, skills maintenance opportunities, and equipment and resourcing requirements.

CFA is under increasing pressure to be more involved with planned burning, so it is vital that members assist with identifying any barriers or frustrations that prevent volunteers from being more involved. Your feedback to this survey will shape future CFA & Government policy.

Facts: More people die in Victoria each year from house fires – than they do from bushfires. Most fatal fires occur in the home! They can be prevented. One third of all residential fires occur in the kitchen. Under the CFA Act, Brigades are not only required to respond to these fires when they occur, but also to assist their community prevent these kind of fires in the first place.

The Home Fire Safety Campaign is a joint MFB/CFA campaign and it acknowledges the fact that house fires happen all year round. The campaign will commence in late May and will feature high profile chef ambassadors attracting the media and spreading the message about understanding fire risks in the home.

Delegates were briefed in the campaign details and are working with CFA to ensure the message reaches local and regional communities as well as metropolitan Melbourne.