Dear volunteers,

As I write this, we commence our third consecutive, record-breaking week of daily temperatures above 35 degrees. I’d love to see all the records volunteers have broken this past fortnight…

• The total number of sleep hours volunteers have missed out on
• The amount of fuel from volunteer’s cars used to and from the stations
• The number of phone calls made between members
• The number of pager batteries consumed in one week
• The total number of days of annual leave taken by volunteers to support their brigades …and then some!

Bushfires have impacted on several areas of the state and once again our volunteers have placed the rest of their lives on hold to avail themselves to the community for days on end.

An ABC radio interview conducted with Peter Bishop – a volunteer treated for minor injuries after a burn-over at Willunga – said it all. When asked by announcer, Matthew Abraham, what he did after he was cleared by the paramedics, Peter said he helped organise a relief crew, went home, cuddled the wife and stared at the ceiling for an hour before being alerted by pager to return to the fireground. His response sounded like this was the normal routine for he and other volunteers. An astonished Matthew Abraham responded with an “amazing” sigh which I am convinced was echoed by thousands of listeners.

Peter’s actions are the norm for CFS volunteers and are repeated on a daily basis around the state. I too am continually astounded by the selfless efforts of our members. The pride I have in CFS brigades from witnessing recent events is overwhelming.

Of course there is always the usual public response about not being told about the fires sooner, why we don’t use the station sirens to warn the community and how they know best that South Australia should have it’s very own “Elvis”. What a circus!

We all know full well the chaos that erupts in the first hour on the fireground. Heads are a spin as you do your best to establish where the fire is, where it is headed and what needs to be protected. Station sirens, first they’re sick of them and now they want them back. And yes, aircraft are brilliant and we’ll never be without them, but without our volunteer firefighting force on the ground, you might as well be without them.

Having said that, I feel our fixed-wing pilots deserve a special mention. It seems the media and the public are one-eyed supporters of the “Elvis” heli-tanker, which of course it never was here in SA, but rather the “Incredible Hulk”. Our fixed-wing pilots have been around for as long as I can remember and have saved the lives of volunteers on countless occasions. I have witnessed their daring manoeuvres and sometimes pause from the action to enjoy a thankful chuckle to myself,  “Amazing, …just amazing”. To our firefighters in the sky, we salute you.

Outside of operations, the CFSVA is in the process of producing several audiovisual projects for the promotion of CFS volunteers. Courtesy of grant funding from Emergency Management Australia (EMA), the CFSVA will produce two features by the end of June.

One is based on the retention, recruitment and promotion of volunteers and how the CFSVA operates to represent and offer support to members and brigades. DVDs of the final feature will be issued to brigades later in the year. The second is a community service announcement featuring the equity and diversity of CFS volunteers and will be seen on regional television stations, initially in regions 4 and 6.

And finally, now that the CFSVA has established it’s new name, branches, groups and brigades need to ensure that their constitution or branch rules reflect the name change. For more information speak to your local CFSVA branch president or delegate.

Let’s hope for a quiet winter and I look forward to meeting up with you at the various CFS events over the coming months.

Ken Schutz AFSM

CFSVA President