Cranebrook/Tingara Heights: – first of the new standard station design
Dynamic risk assessments
Last Weekend family day and the future
The Union wishes to thank all the members who attended the combined worker celebrations held, Sunday 7th August 2005, to enshrine our right to spend time with family and friends. Our marquee at Sydney Olympic Park was visited by hundreds of working people who enthusiastically showed support for what is shaping to be a long and arduous battle against an insidious evil, that is intent on reducing the living standards of average Australians.
In particular, the Union wishes to thank Mark White for bringing the vintage Rolls from The Museum of Fire, as well as Wayne Smith and Craig Sheehan for displaying the operations of 27 Stn’s Hydraulic Platform to the huge crowd assembled. The day was made even more successful because of their hard work and support as well as the un-orchestrated response by the platform to a building fire.
The morning of Friday 12th August 2005 saw the Union support a protest against the unfair dismissal of a production worker at Imperial Mushrooms, Londonderry. The FBEU flew the flag alongside a hundred other workers who were rallied by Unions NSW to fight for the right of this single mother to refuse an AWA in favour of the industry award. The morally poisoned mushrooms produced by Imperial will never be used within this unionist’s culinary delights. It’s important that we all stay focused on the IR changes, otherwise the untruths of a morally corrupt Howard Government will seduce those less informed around us into believing their changes are for our own good.
Cranebrook / Tingara Heights: – first of the new standard station design
I attended the opening of the Cranebrook Fire Station on Monday 1st August 2005, which brought to fruition years of planning and hard work by the Union who drove the design. Cranebrook and Tingara Heights (which opened the following day) boast significant improvements to OH&S with PPE separation, individual study/reclines, modern air-conditioned gymnasium, ensuite style bathrooms, and superior and safe storage, to name just a few.
Without the help of John Gibbs and Mark Wiley from Properties, Matt Murray, Brian Webster, Clint Demkin, John Benson, the members at 71 station and many others who had input the Union would still be at a stalemate with the Department over these new concepts of ‘Standard Station Design’.
Should you get the chance, take the opportunity to visit one of these stations and view the results obtained by your Union and observe the new and safe way to live with contaminated PPE and equipment.
Dynamic Risk Assessments
The Union has come to an agreement with the Department for members to use the publication ‘Dynamic Risk Assessment for Operations: The Safe Person Concept’, that was issued to each firefighter as a training aid for members to understand Risk Management on the fireground. The publication has now moved through a correct process and has been reviewed by the Training Review Committee as a useful guide for firefighters. Therefore the ban on members using this publication for training guidance is lifted.
Still under discussion is the ‘Risk assessment worksheet’ at the rear of the publication. It has been agreed that the final format will not show ‘Safety Officer name, number, rank and station or section attached’. Also agreed is that the template shown is a useful tool for guidance in understanding and attributing risk on the fireground and as a check sheet guides a safety officer to address many of the fireground considerations. What is still to be agreed is the final format of this risk assessment tool and its physical form for use on the firefground in relation to recording of data. Put simply the publication is OK for use in training but no form of ‘Risk assessment worksheet’ or the collection of data has been agreed to, so therefore ‘Risk assessment worksheets’ are not to be used on the fireground.
