Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) - Experts & Thought Leaders

Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) crews have teamed up with community elders for a successful series of home fire safety visits in the township of Walgett in the state’s north-west. Building on engagement experiences, gleaned from deployments to isolated areas hit by natural disasters, the firefighters linked up with the elders and went door to door last week, providing home fire safety advice, testing smoke alarms, and checking access to fire hydrants. Among the first responders were highly respected Indigenous firefighters from Brewarrina Fire Station who helped to connect with some of the Walgett residents. Fire safety advice They also held a community event to meet residents and provide fire safety advice As a result, the crews were able to build relationships and reduce the risk of fires within the township and nearby missions. They also held a community event to meet residents and provide fire safety advice, offering locals peace of mind in relation to fire dangers within their homes. The event was also used to recruit on-call firefighters, with one person applying on the spot. FRNSW Area Commander, Gary Barber, said the unique approach will prove very helpful towards approaching other Indigenous communities with safety advice. Indigenous firefighters “Walgett is an area where it’s proved a challenge for FRNSW to develop relationships with the local community in the past,” Chief Superintendent Barber said. “But by using Indigenous firefighters with whom residents are related or already know, combined with the help from the elders, we have been able to build trust with the community and assist it to reduce the risk of fire.” “We are now hoping to apply this template in other remote communities like Lake Cargelligo, in the state’s central west, to foster new relationships and pass on our advice.”

Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) advises that a funeral will be held for Firefighter, Michael Kidd, following his death in a house fire last week at Grose Vale, in Sydney’s north-west. The 51-year-old On-call FRNSW firefighter and veteran Rural Fire Service volunteer is survived by his wife and two adult children, who have accepted an offer of a FRNSW funeral with full honors. Provisions have been made for the funeral, and outlets are requested not to approach family members for comment during proceedings. When & Where WHEN 10 am for 10:30 am (Friday, 22 December) WHERE St Monica's Catholic Church, 1a Bourke Road, Richmond Media Note A media point has been established for the service. An honor guard will be established outside the church from 10 am. The hearse will arrive at the service around 10:25 am as part of a procession, also including the FRNSW band, and FRNSW and RFS fire trucks, that will travel along March and Bourke Streets to the church.

Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) is reminding travellers heading to and from the snowfields this winter to exercise patience and safety on the icy roads. The FRNSW crews of permanent firefighters, seconded to the Perisher Valley Fire Station for the next few months, along with local On-call firefighters, are undergoing additional alpine training this winter, familiarising themselves with the Hagglund tracked fire appliance, skidoos and six-wheel All-Terrain Vehicles (ATVs), used by the fire service in the NSW snowfields. Unusual and dynamic environment The firefighters are faced with a very unusual and dynamic environment in the snowfields The crews are prepared for anything in the alpine environment, including vehicle crashes on the region’s roads, rescuing lost or injured skiers and possible fires in resort lodges. FRNSW Region South Zone Commander, Mark Cavanough, said the firefighters are faced with a very unusual and dynamic environment in the snowfields with both the topography and weather liable to change by the hour. “We’ve had in excess of 25-centimetres of snow on one day alone recently and we witnessed the weather change very quickly,” Superintendent Cavanough said. “It’s really important that the crews familiarize themselves with not just the appliances and the vehicles they drive but also with the weather conditions and the topography." Tackling dangerous environments “We equip our firefighters with alpine weather gear but many of these firefighters have never worked in these environments…those conditions can be extremely dangerous for any emergency service personnel,” Superintendent Cavanough said “We bring them up to speed with their environment and equipment very quickly.” FRNSW is warning motorists to take extra care when negotiating their way to and from the resort villages. “There can be a bit of a mass exodus out of Perisher or Thredbo at the end of a weekend and we can get accidents occurring, so it’s really important that our visitors are aware of those conditions, drive appropriately and show patience because we can get thousands of people converging on the snowfields on a good weekend,” Superintendent Cavanough said.