Arthurs Creek & Strathewen RFB: October 2011

Sunday, October 30, 2011

TMP and Vehicle Sticker system

The 2011/12 TMP (Traffic Management Point) and Vehicle Sticker system is currently being implemented across the State.

There are 5 elements in the new TMP system -

the new Member photo ID cards
the three kinds of vehicle stickers

white sticker for CFA volunteer vehicles
yellow sticker for private fire fighting equipment
a NEW pink sticker for temporary access through an emergency services only TMP

the Victoria Police TMP Information Card
the CFA / DSE TMP identification card
the interagency TMP guidelines

The attached TMP and Vehicle Sticker Guidelines detail these 5 elements and how the vehicle stickers are to be distributed.

Shortly you will be receiving a TMP and Vehicle Sticker System information pack which will include copies of each of the 5 elements, together with a book of white stickers for issue to eligible members of your brigade who may require access through a TMP as part of an operational response.

This information pack will be mailed direct to your brigade mailing address via Australia Post.

Additional books of white vehicle stickers can be obtained through your district or region office.

Minutes - General Meeting - 3 October 2011

Minutes of general meeting 3 October 2011

They can also be found in the "Brigade Documents" tab.

Many thanks to Anita and Sue A for doing the minutes.

Thursday, October 27, 2011

Black Saturday class action briefing

Briefing held by CFA at Whittlesea Fire Station Monday 24 October regarding Black Saturday class action for the Kilmore East fire. My notes:

All those who lost property or were affected by Black Saturday are in the "class". The action is being taken against SPI (SP Ausnet), who have then brought in CFA, DSE and Vicpol, and one of their sub-contractors (UAE?).

Three options are available for us:

1. Opt-out of the class by notifying the Supreme Court by end January 2012. Notices will soon appear in newspapers on how to do this. You may take this option if you want to pursue your own action against SPI, as an example.

2. Do nothing. You'll remain in the class, but there will not be any outcome for you. Your name is not on any list.

3. Submit a claim to be included in the class action. Maurice Blackburn will likely put ads in the paper towards the end of 2012 on how to do this. Your insurance company may force you into this option as there is usually a clause in your policy covering this.

The action is going to court January 2013 and is estimated to take 6 months. The argument is more likely to be legal/technical rather than on facts. It is unlikely that we would be asked to be witnesses, and if we are, we can decline. They could subpoena us, but that's highly unlikely as they would not want a hostile witness.

CFA does not need to know whether any members are making a claim. That is a personal choice.

I hope this helps those that couldn't attend the meeting. I'm happy to answer further questions based on what was discussed at the meeting, but if you have any detailed or complex questions, you really need to contact your own solicitor or Maurice Blackburn for advice.

Geoff

Seasonal outlook - Nov to Jan

Rainfall:

Wet season favoured for most of southeastern Australia. See http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/ahead/rain.seaus.shtml

Temperature:

Warmer season for the southeast. See http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/ahead/temp.seaus.shtml

Sunday, October 23, 2011

Off road skills maintenance

Group is running an off-road skills maintenance day on Sunday 13 November. It's for cars and tankers, there are morning and afternoon sessions, and it's being held in Pheasant Creek. Refer attached for more information.

Names are required by 26 october. If you are interested, please contact Warren: 0439 355 104

Sunday, October 16, 2011

New version - Guidelines and business rules for operation through CAD

Please find attached the new version of Guidelines and business rules for operation through CAD.

St Andrews Hall - Image & Sound Launch - 30th October

Flyer

Debrief clarification

Michael received clarification on the proposed debrief, which was discussed last general meeting:

I have checked with HQ and confirmed that the intent was to use the Facilitated learning Analysis to glean learnings from Arthurs Creek that could be used at a regional and state level to help us to support brigades that are in situations like you found yourselves during and after Black Saturday

Some dot points from the proposal that HQ suggested to us that are relevant to this are:

In conjunction with District 14 personnel conduct a Facilitated Learning Analysis (FLA) - this is an independently facilitated activity (similar to the AAR process). It should be recognized that this process is about gathering lessons learned from the experiences of the Brigade in relation to support following February 2009 and not for the revisiting of issues originally addressed in their post fire AARs;
Following the FLA – provide written feedback on the information gathered during this activity for the Brigade to endorse;
In conjunction with the Brigade develop a Lessons Learned communiqué that can be distributed throughout CFA to enhance CFA organisational recovery capacity after major incidents – this communiqué should also include information from District 13 about what and how they undertook this support given the success of these activities in the Kinglake, Kinglake West and other severely affected communities in their District.

We could also take the opportunity to provide some feedback on what actions have been taken to address issues that were identified during your debrief after the event if you thought it was vitally important, but I wouldn’t want this to detract from the main aim of the FLA which is about capturing your lessons to pass on up and throughout the organisation to other brigades.