News

SitRep 36/2025

October 31, 2025

PFAS BLOOD TESTING PROGRAM TO FINALLY COMMENCE

As you all know, in the 2023 Award one significant win was the introduction of voluntary PFAS blood testing for our members. Historical (and potentially ongoing) exposure to PFAS through our job presents a continued risk to our health and safety. Known as a forever chemical, the ability to mitigate the levels in our blood and its potentially harmful effects remain uncertain.

Given this, in 2023 we pushed for voluntary access to PFAS blood testing to give you all as much knowledge as we could in managing your health.

Significant consultation has gone into the development of this program (and the Department, unfortunately, has also dragged its heels) however we can now advise that the program will formally commence on Monday as an initial three-year trial.

Participation in the program will be voluntary and will begin by seeking expressions of interest through the Intranet from 3 November 2025.

We encourage all members to access the post-test counselling provided by the external blood test provider if you have any concerns along with your personal health practitioner.

 

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE USAGE

Many members have contacted the FBEU over the past week regarding alleged detections of AI in their responses to questions in the most recent SO promotional process.

The FBEU is well across this issue, and we are taking our concerns regarding this process directly to the Department for resolution. We understand members who were notified of detections will be contacted by the Department likely next week to outline the next steps.

In the meantime, anyone who has not yet contacted the FBEU and has been caught up in this issue is encouraged to submit a request for a review, along with any evidence, to ProgressionandPlanning@fire.nsw.gov.au, copying in the FBEU at office@fbeu.net.

 

ALARM SIGNALLING EQUIPMENT (ASE) ISSUES

A group of SOs have been working on behalf of the membership to resolve a concern regarding faulty alarm signalling equipment. Where this equipment fails at incidents it can prevent the Pumper from being able to leave the incident as the site remains in alarm on the signalling equipment.

Once an AFA Panel is reset or offending zone or detector isolated, the ASE should revert to ‘normal’, with this status sent to the MDT and Comms, allowing a stop message to be sent through.

We are aware that at times the ASE has failed or malfunctioned. Further, we have reports of ICs contacting ASE providers (Johnson Controls, Chubb, and Romtek), who refuse to remotely reset the device, leaving it in alarm. This means any further alarm activations will not be sent to the provider or to the Department.

This means the IC must decide to either remain on site, or leave the site without any fire protection, both unreasonable outcomes.

As we work through this issue with the Department, we ask any members who can provide incident numbers where the ASE has failed or malfunctioned in some way, and the providers have refused to remotely manage it, to provide the incident number to the FBEU by emailing garnott@fbeu.net.

In Unity,

Leighton Drury
State Secretary

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