96-611: Strike Team may refer to: Firefighting [ edit ] Strike Team, in the New South Wales Rural Fire Service , it is several fire trucks of the same class Strike Team, a special unit of firefighters in South Australia's Country Fire Service Strike Team, a special unit of firefighters in Victoria's Country Fire Authority ; in Victoria,
192-509: A Chief Officer of the NSW Fire Brigades. These Fire Control Officers were responsible for bush fire management within their appointed local council districts. In September 1939 a conference of fire-fighting authorities was convened to discuss the prevention of bush fires during the summer months. The Bush Fire Advisory Committee was established to prevent and mitigate bush fires. This committee had no statutory powers but publicised
288-625: A Strike Team usually refers to a unit of five appliances used to fight large, campaign-sized wildfires such as those in the Black Saturday bushfires Special forces [ edit ] Strike team, a colloquialism for SWAT Team Strike Team, a unit composed of similar resource types in the FEMA Incident Command Structure Strike Team, a team of the U.S. Coast Guard's National Strike Force Other uses [ edit ] Strike Team,
384-485: A broken arm. Because of the bushfires occurring in the surrounding regions, the Sydney metropolitan area suffered from dangerous smoky haze for several days throughout December, with the air quality being eleven times the hazardous level on some days, making it even worse than New Delhi's, where it was also compared to "smoking 32 cigarettes" by Associate Professor Brian Oliver, a respiratory diseases scientist at
480-606: A chairman and five others met at least once a month. Based in Sydney, the Bush Fire Committee advised the Chief Secretary and Minister for Local Government on all matters relating to bush fires, and generally co-ordinated the work of volunteer fire fighting groups and was responsible for community education relating to bush fires. The most significant bushfire in New South Wales during this period
576-551: A grass fire broke out in the sloped woodlands of Prospect Hill , in Western Sydney , where it headed north towards Pemulwuy along the Prospect Highway . The fire impacted a large industrial area and threatened numerous properties before being brought under control by 9:30 pm. Approximately 10 hectares (25 acres) and a number of historic Monterey pine trees were burnt. The Sydney City fireworks display
672-518: A patchwork of more than 200 separate fire fighting agencies working under a loose umbrella with no single chain of command. The core of the service, then as now, was the volunteer brigades that were organised along council district lines under the command of a locally appointed Fire Control Officer. Fire fighting efforts were funded by the Bush Fire Fighting Fund, established in 1949 and financed by insurance companies, local council and
768-750: A quarter of the total size of the Gospers Mountain Fire. At 10am on 14 December the NSW Rural Fire Service commenced a large backburn in the Mount Wilson area. Due to poor fire weather conditions and heavy fuel loads, the backburn quickly grew out of control, threatening houses in Mount Wilson. The escaped backburn spread east of Mount Wilson Road and on 15 December, under deteriorating conditions, impacted Mount Tomah , Berambing and Bilpin . Due to confusion around
864-514: A significant number of fires; it left 33 active fires, of which five were uncontrolled, all located in the Bega Valley and Snowy Mountains regions. Between July 2019 and 13 February 2020, the NSW Rural Fire Service reported that 11,264 bush or grass fires burnt 5.4 million hectares (13 million acres), destroyed 2,439 homes, and approximately 24 megalitres (5.3 million imperial gallons; 6.3 million US gallons) of fire retardant
960-762: A torrential rain event over the preceding week had extinguished the Gospers Mountain fire. Smaller fires in the area include the Erskine Creek fire. Additional fires in Balmoral, at the south eastern extent of the Blue Mountains, were also caused by NSW Rural Fire Service backburning. The Gospers Mountain fire was widely reported as the largest forest fire ever recorded in Australia, burning more than 500,000 hectares. A significant amount of
1056-408: A tree fell onto the road and their tanker rolled, injuring three other crew members. The situation deteriorated on 21 December when the fire changed direction and attacked Balmoral and Buxton once more from the opposite side, with major property losses in both areas. On New Year's Eve there were fears of this fire impacting the towns of Mittagong , Braemar, and surrounding areas. On 31 December 2019,
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#17327810569011152-639: A volunteer firefighter from the Wingello Bush Fire Brigade (seven were also injured). The financial cost of the disaster was estimated at $ 165 million. The lengthy Coronial Inquiry that followed recommended the State Government introduce a single entity responsible for the management of bush fires in NSW. The 1997 Rural Fires Act was proclaimed on 1 September, with Phil Koperberg announced as Commissioner. As Director-General of
1248-470: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages New South Wales Rural Fire Service The New South Wales Rural Fire Service (NSW RFS) is a volunteer-based firefighting agency and statutory body of the Government of New South Wales . The NSW RFS is responsible for fire protection to approximately 95% of the land area of New South Wales and
1344-439: Is issued and equipped with the latest safety equipment including RFS uniform and bush firefighting. Extra equipment is provided when a member achieves additional qualifications including Breathing Apparatus Operator (BAO), Crew/Group Leader (C/GL), aviation operations and most specialist qualifications. 2019%E2%80%9320 Australian bushfire season Enhanced fires The 2019–20 Australian bushfire season , or Black Summer ,
1440-555: Is located at 4 Murray Rose Avenue, Sydney Olympic Park. It relocated to this location in November 2018 and was previously situated at Rosehill until October 2004. Separate directorates within NSW RFS Headquarters are responsible for Infrastructure Services, Membership and Strategic Services, Operations, and Finance and Executive Services. Regional offices mirror these responsibilities at more centralised locations across
1536-412: Is the world's largest volunteer fire service, with 71,234 volunteer members. They are organised into 1,994 brigades (local units). As of 30 June 2019 , the service employed 936 paid staff who fulfil senior operational management and administrative roles. The agency attends to approximately 30,000 incidents per annum. The agency is led by its Commissioner , Rob Rogers AFSM , who reports to
1632-604: The 2018 California wildfires consumed 800,000 hectares (2,000,000 acres) and the 2019 Amazon rainforest wildfires burnt 900,000 hectares (2,200,000 acres) of land. Whereas these bushfires are regarded by the NSW Rural Fire Service as the worst bushfire season in memory for that state, the 1974–75 bushfires were nationally much larger consuming 117 million hectares (290 million acres ; 1,170,000 square kilometres ; 450,000 square miles ). However, due to their lower intensity and remote location,
1728-702: The Hawkesbury and the Wollondilly in Sydney's far west, the Blue Mountains , Illawarra and the South Coast , Riverina and Snowy Mountains with more than 100 fires burnt across the state. In eastern and north-eastern Victoria , large areas of forest burnt out of control for four weeks before the fires emerged from the forests in late December, taking lives, threatening many towns and isolating Corryong and Mallacoota . A state of disaster
1824-474: The Jervis Bay Territory , while urban areas and over 90% of the population are the responsibility of Fire and Rescue NSW . The NSW RFS is the primary agency for responding to bushfires in the state. In addition, they respond to structural fires, vehicle fires, motor vehicle accidents and wide range of other emergencies, as well as providing preventative advice to local communities. The NSW RFS
1920-737: The Minister for Emergency Services and Resilience . The NSW Rural Fire Service Association (RFSA) is the official representative association for both Volunteer and Salaried Members of the NSW RFS. In addition to facilitating advocacy at all levels of the RFS the RFSA also provides support for Brigades, Members and their families. The NSW RFS was at the forefront of Australia's worst bushfire outbreak known as Black Summer (2019–20) . Prior to 1997, bushfire fighting services in New South Wales were essentially
2016-482: The New South Wales Government to cut funding to fire services based on budget estimates, as well as a holiday taken by Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison , during a period in which two volunteer firefighters died, and his perceived apathy towards the situation, resulted in controversy. As of 14 January 2020 , 18.626 million hectares (46.03 million acres) had burnt or
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#17327810569012112-559: The South Pacific Ocean , impacting weather conditions in other continents. Satellite data estimated the carbon emissions from the fires to be around 715 million tons, surpassing Australia's normal annual bushfire and fossil fuel emissions by around 80%. From September 2019 to March 2020, fires heavily impacted various regions of the state of New South Wales (NSW). In eastern and north-eastern Victoria , large areas of forest burnt out of control for four weeks before
2208-518: The United States , among others, helped fight the fires. An air tanker and two helicopters crashed during operations, killing three crew members. Two fire trucks were caught in fatal accidents, killing three firefighters. By 4 March 2020, all fires in NSW had been extinguished completely (to the point where there were no fires in the state for the first time since July 2019), and the Victoria fires had all been contained. The last fire of
2304-557: The University of Technology Sydney . On 10 December 2019 the fire impacted the south-western Sydney suburbs of Nattai and Oakdale , followed by Orangeville and Werombi , threatening hundreds of houses and resulting in the destruction of one building. The fire continued to flare up sporadically, coming out of the dense bush and threatening properties in Oakdale and Buxton on 14 and 15 December. The fire moved south-east towards
2400-718: The 1890s. These culminated in the Red Tuesday fire of 1 February 1898 in Gippsland that claimed 12 lives and destroyed 2000 buildings. In 1916 the Local Government Act provided for the prevention and mitigation of bush fires by authorising local councils to establish, manage and maintain these brigades. The establishment of the Bush Fires Act in 1930 granted local councils the authority to appoint bush fire officers with powers comparable to those held by
2496-560: The 1909 Fire Brigades Act. This Act proclaimed the areas serviced by the Board of Fire Commissioners (now Fire and Rescue NSW ) and covered the urban areas of Sydney and Newcastle together with most regional and country towns of any significance. In January 1994, extreme weather conditions resulted in over 800 bush fires breaking out along the coast of NSW. More than 800,000 hectares (2,000,000 acres) of land and 205 homes were burnt. 120 people were injured and four people were killed, including
2592-534: The 1974 fires caused around A$ 5 million (approximately A$ 36.5 million in 2020 ) in damage. In December 2019 the New South Wales Government declared a state of emergency after record-breaking temperatures and prolonged drought exacerbated the bushfires. Due to safety concerns and significant public pressure, New Year's Eve fireworks displays were cancelled across New South Wales including highly popular events at Campbelltown , Liverpool , Parramatta , and across Sydney's Northern Beaches , and as well in
2688-696: The Bees Nest fire near Ebor which burnt until 12 November and destroyed seven homes. A major fire began in Chaelundi State Forest, west of Nymbodia, Fire spread south west of Grafton during an intense growth period of the fire where it became a PyroCumulonimbus and over ran the village of Nymboida, destroying 80 houses. Smaller fires in the area include the Myall Creek Road fire. In the Port Macquarie - Hastings area,
2784-613: The Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC updated their advice of "above normal fire potential". The Australian National University reported that the area burned in 2019–2020 was "well below average" due to low fuel levels and fire activity in unpopulated parts of Northern Australia, but that "despite low fire activity overall, vast forest fires occurred in southeast Australia from southeast Queensland to Kangaroo Island." The NSW statutory Bush Fire Danger Period normally begins on 1 October and continues through until 31 March. In 2019–20,
2880-610: The Carrai Plateau west of Kempsey . This fire joined up with the Stockyard Creek fire and together with the Coombes Gap fire and swept east towards Willawarrin, Temagog, Birdwood, Yarras, Bellangary, Kindee and Upper Rollands Plains. Land around Nowendoc and Yarrowich was also burnt. As of 6 December 2019 , this fire burnt nearly 400,000 hectares (988,422 acres), destroying numerous homes and claiming
2976-545: The Commissioner on bush fire prevention. The Committee was to constitute a Bush Fire Management Committee for "the whole of the area of any local authority for which a rural fire district is constituted". Each Management Committee was to prepare and present to the Council a plan of operations and bush fire risk management plan for its area within three months of establishment. The former was to be reviewed every two years;
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3072-518: The Commissioner on public education programs relating to rural fire matters, training of rural fire fighters, and on the issue of Service Standards. A statutory body – the Bush Fire Co-ordinating Committee – also was established. This was to consist of 12 members including the Commissioner who was to act as Chairperson. The Committee was to be responsible for the administration of rural fires management as well as advising
3168-582: The Department of Bush Fire Services, Koperberg had been in command of the fire agencies battling the 1994 fires and was instrumental in developing the legislation that led to the Rural Fires Act. Organised control of bush fires began with the establishment of the first volunteer bush fire brigades at Berrigan in 1896. This brigade had been established in response to a series of large fires in northern Victoria and south western New South Wales in
3264-505: The Gospers Mountain Fire as contained on 12 January 2020, stating that the fire was caused by a lightning strike on 26 October. On 4 February 2020 the escaped Mt Wilson Backburn was declared out. The amount of area burnt by the original Gospers Mountain Wildfire remains contested, as a significant portion of the fire was caused by multiple, separate backburns which increased the fire area. On 10 February 2020, NSW Rural Fire Service announced
3360-500: The NSW Rural Fire Service took control of fire management and issued a pre-emptive Section 44 declaration ahead of anticipated deteriorating conditions. Around 11 November 2019, the NSW Rural Fire Service devised a strategy to contain the Gospers Mountain Fire using primary roads, major fire trails and an over-reliance on large-scale strategic backburning. This strategy was calculated to result in an area burnt of 450,000 ha. Under this strategy eight strategic backburns were carried out by
3456-518: The NSW Rural Fire Service, generally many kilometres from the edge of the Gospers Mountain Fire, with each backburn failing and escaping containment. This caused the fire to significantly increase in size. In each instance the NSW Rural Fire Service described the escaped backburns as the "Gospers Mountain Fire", even though in many cases, the backburns were ignited separately. The area burnt by these escaped backburns accounted for over 130,000 hectares - nearly
3552-1111: The National Parks and Wildlife Service, State Forests of New South Wales, Sydney Water and the New South Wales Fire Brigades in emergency circumstances. It was also responsible for the management and control of the NSW Bush Fire Fighting Fund and the co-ordination of the State's 2,500 Bush Fire Brigades, however the brigades still remained under the direct control of local council. Major bushfires during this period were in Far West NSW at Moolah-Corinya, Cobar, Balranald, and across other parts of NSW (in 1974–1975), Sydney (1979), Waterfall (1980), Grays Point (1983), Western NSW grasslands (1984), Cobar and across other parts of NSW (in 1984–1985), and across Australia's eastern seaboard (1994). The NSW Rural Fire Service
3648-503: The RFS website. Not all roles require being a fire fighter or having any qualifications. Support roles include but not excluded to: The RFS operates a broad range of firefighting equipment including: Firefighting appliances used within the RFS are identified with a red and white livery, with either red & white or red & yellow reflective chevrons . Appliances are also equipped with red and blue emergency lights and sirens. The most common of appliances are tankers, of which
3744-400: The State Government. A variety of State-run committees and councils oversaw bush fire operations with members drawn from various Government fire fighting agencies and council and volunteer representatives. These groups developed legislation and techniques but in the main responsibility for bushfire management was vested in individual local councils in dedicated bush fire areas as determined under
3840-424: The State. The original eight regions were consolidated into four by 2000, with the model changed to be seven Areas in 2019. These areas are as follows: Formerly run by council-appointed officers, district Fire Control Centres became State controlled under the Rural Fires Act. District offices manage the day-to-day affairs of local brigades and maintain responsibility for local fire prevention and strategies. With
3936-652: The amalgamation of neighbouring districts over recent years, there are 47 NSW Rural Fire Service Districts. Volunteer brigades are responsible for hands-on bush firefighting duties. Since the establishment of the Rural Fire Service, the role of brigades has gradually expanded to include disaster recovery, fire protection at motor vehicle accidents, search and rescue operations and increased levels of structural firefighting. There are more than 2,000 firefighting brigades and more than 50 catering and communications brigades providing support. The most senior member of
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4032-490: The areas under their control. The system of bush fire brigades manned by volunteers and directed by their officers appointed by their local Councils continued but shire and district councils or Ministers could now appoint group captains to direct brigades formed by two adjoining councils. The Act also gave the Governor of NSW the authority to proclaim bush fire districts where none had previously been proclaimed. Essential to
4128-559: The bushfire season, beginning in June 2019. Hundreds of fires burnt, mainly in the southeast of the country, until May 2020. The most severe fires peaked from December 2019 to January 2020. The fires burnt an estimated 24.3 million hectares (243,000 square kilometres ), destroyed over 3,000 buildings (including 2,779 homes), and killed at least 34 people. According to the University of Tasmania’s Menzies Institute, bushfire smoke
4224-619: The bushfires was expected to exceed the A$ 4.4 billion of the 2009 Black Saturday fires , and tourism sector revenues fell by more than A$ 1 billion. Economists estimated the bushfires – Australia's costliest natural disaster in history – may have cost over A$ 78–88 billion in property damage and economic losses. Nearly 80% of Australians were affected by the bushfires in some way. At its peak, air quality dropped to hazardous levels in all southern and eastern states, and smoke had been moving upwards of 11,000 kilometres (6,800 mi) across
4320-519: The cause of the accident. A preliminary ATSB report was released on 28 February. One fact determined was that the cockpit voice recorder (CVR) was faulty and " … had not recorded any audio from the accident flight." As of December 2020 the investigation had not been completed. On 31 January 2020, the Australian Capital Territory declared a state of emergency in areas around Canberra as several bushfires threatened
4416-593: The city, having burnt 60,000 hectares (150,000 acres). On 7 February 2020, it was reported that torrential rain across most of south-east Australia had extinguished a third of extant fires; with only a small number of uncontrolled fires remaining by 10 February. The Garnaut Climate Change Review of 2008 stated: Recent projections of fire weather (Lucas, et al. , 2007) suggest that fire seasons will start earlier, end slightly later, and generally be more intense. This effect increases over time, but should be directly observable by 2020. To describe emerging fire trends
4512-487: The current Executive Directors are uniformed personnel with a rank of Senior Assistant Commissioner. The Executive Director, Operational Services holds the rank of Deputy Commissioner and the Executive Director, Infrastructure Services holds the rank of Senior Assistant Commissioner. Non-operational Executive Directors do not currently hold operational ranks. The operational rank of Senior Assistant Commissioner
4608-517: The death of the three American crew members on board. It was one of eleven large air tankers brought to Australia for the fire season from Canada and US. Reaching the crash site proved difficult due to the active bushfires in the area. The crash was located in dense bushland, and spanned approximately 1 kilometre (0.62 mi). An investigation was begun by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) to determine
4704-447: The deaths of nine smoky mice were from "severe lung disease" caused by smoke haze that contained PM2.5 particles coming from bushfires 50 kilometres away. By the time the fires had been extinguished there, they destroyed 2,448 homes, as well as 284 facilities and more than 5,000 outbuildings in New South Wales alone. Twenty-six people were confirmed to have been killed in New South Wales since October. The last fatality reported
4800-404: The direction of Nabiac before wind pushed it towards Failford. Other communities affected included Rainbow Flat, Khappinghat, Kooringhat and Purfleet . A spot fire jumped into Ericsson Lane, threatening businesses. It ultimately burnt 31,268 hectares (77,260 acres). At Dingo Tops National Park a small fire that started in the vicinity of Rumba Dump Fire Trail burned down the ranges and impacted
4896-851: The event prevailed with the event cancelled on 12 November. In late December 2019, fires started on both sides of the Pacific Highway around the Coopernook region. They burnt 278 hectares (687 acres) before they were brought under control. In the Hunter region , the Kerry Ridge fire burnt in the Wollemi National Park , Nullo Mountain, Coricudgy and Putty state forests in the Mid-Western Region , Muswellbrook and Singleton local government areas. The fire
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#17327810569014992-488: The fictional tactical unit on The Shield Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Strike Team . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Strike_Team&oldid=901274420 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description
5088-569: The final burnt area was a result of escaped backburning operations by the NSW Rural Fire Service. 81% of the Blue Mountains World Heritage Area burned. On 12 November 2019, under Sydney's first ever catastrophic fire conditions, a fire broke out in the Lane Cove National Park south of Turramurra . Under strong winds and extreme heat the fire spread rapidly, growing out of control and impacting
5184-514: The final round of the 2019 World Rally Championship , was a motor racing event scheduled to be held in Coffs Harbour across 14–17 November. A week before the rally was due to begin, the bushfire began to affect the region surrounding Coffs Harbour, with event organisers shortening the event in response to the deteriorating conditions. With the situation worsening, repeated calls from competitors (most of which were European-based) to cancel
5280-485: The fire season started early with drought affecting 95 percent of the state and persistent dry and warm conditions across the state. Twelve local government areas started the Bush Fire Danger Period two months early, on 1 August 2019, and nine more started on 17 August 2019. In the week preceding 10 February 2020, a wide band of heavy rain swept through most of coastal New South Wales, extinguishing
5376-519: The fires emerged from the forests in late December. Multiple states of emergency were declared across NSW , Victoria, and the Australian Capital Territory . Reinforcements from all over Australia were called in to assist fighting the fires and relieve exhausted local crews in NSW. The Australian Defence Force was mobilised to provide air support to the firefighting effort and to provide manpower and logistical support. Firefighters, supplies and equipment from Canada , New Zealand , Singapore and
5472-545: The first fire was reported at Lindfield Park on 18 July 2019, burning in dry peat swamp and threatened homes at Sovereign Hills and crossed the Pacific Highway at Sancrox. On 12 February 2020, the fire was declared extinguished after 210 days, having burnt 858 hectares (2,120 acres), of which approximately 400 hectares (990 acres) was underground; near the Port Macquarie Airport . The peat fire
5568-435: The first time since the introduction of this level in 2009 and a total fire ban was in place for seven regions of New South Wales, including Greater Sydney. The Illawarra and Greater Hunter areas also experienced catastrophic fire dangers, and so did other parts of the state, including the already fire ravaged parts of northern New South Wales. The political ramifications of the fire season have been significant. A decision by
5664-471: The former emergency service leaders "who will outline, unconstrained by their former employers, how climate change risks are rapidly escalating". Greg Mullins, the second-longest serving fire and rescue commissioner in New South Wales and now a councillor with the Climate Council , said he thought the coming summer was going to be "the worst I have ever seen" for fire crews, and renewed his calls for
5760-423: The government to take urgent action to address climate change and stop Australia's rising emissions. In August 2019 the federally funded Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC published a seasonal outlook report which advised of "above normal fire potential" for southern and southeast Queensland, the east coast areas of New South Wales and Victoria, for parts of Western Australia and South Australia. In December 2019,
5856-427: The high scenarios ( global increase by 1.0 °C (1.8 °F) ). The number of "extreme" fire danger days generally increases 5–25% by 2020 for the low scenarios and 15–65% for the high scenarios. In April 2019 a group of former Australian fire services chiefs, Emergency Leaders for Climate Action , warned that Australia was not prepared for the upcoming fire season. They called on the next prime minister to meet
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#17327810569015952-436: The largest Firefighting Aircraft fleet in Australia. The NSW RFS owns a Boeing 737 Air Tanker, two Citation jets as well as six helicopters, including a Chinook. It also contracts a number of aircraft for firefighting water-bombing, reconnaissance, intelligence gathering and transportation. The NSW RFS aircraft continue to be upgraded with additional camera technology and night vision capability. Each NSW Rural Fire Service member
6048-1069: The latter every five years. Section 102 of the new act established the New South Wales Rural Fire Fighting Fund to replace the New South Wales Bush Fire Fighting Fund. Quarterly contributions from insurance companies, local councils and the Treasury were to continue in the same proportions as under previous legislation – 14% from the State Treasury, 73.7% from the insurance industry and 12.3% from local Councils. Major bushfires during this period were at Lithgow (1997), Black Christmas (2001–02) , Central Coast (2006), Junee (2006) , Pulletop (2006) , Australian season (2006–07) , Warrumbungles (2013), New South Wales (2013) , Carwoola (2017) , Tathra (2018) , and Black Summer (2019–20) . NSW RFS Headquarters
6144-553: The legislation was the establishment of the Bush Fire Fighting Fund. This Fund was financed by insurance companies contributing half the funds with the remainder supplied equally by State and local government. The Act also enabled for the co-ordination of the activities of the Board of Fire Commissioners, the Forestry Commission (now State Forests) and the Bush Fire Brigades. The Minister for Local Government
6240-511: The lives of three people. North-west of Harrington near the Cattai Wetlands a fire started on 28 October, this fire threatened the towns of Harrington, Crowdy Head and Johns River as it burnt north towards Dunbogan. This fire claimed one life at Johns River, where it also destroyed homes, and burnt more than 12,000 hectares (29,653 acres). At Hillville, a fire grew large due to hot and windy conditions, resulting in disorder in
6336-442: The most common of tankers are Category 1 Tankers, which is mainly used in a combination of rural and urban/interface roles ('interface' meaning where built-up areas meet bushland). The next most common fire appliances are Category 7 tankers which are used to support heavier appliances in fire fighting operations as well as being a primary appliance themselves. Category 9 appliances are most often used as rapid intervention vehicles (thus
6432-524: The name 'Striker') to attack small and spot fires quickly before they are able to spread. Category 2, 3 and 4 tankers are less common, due to the flexibility of Category 1 tankers. Category 10 and 11 urban pumpers can be found in many brigades with dedicated urban responsibilities. Appliances are categorised as follows: Multi-Purpose Deputy Group/ Group Officer Vehicle The NSW RFS uses various support vehicles. These are categorised as follows: The NSW Rural Fire Service operates an Aviation Unit and owns
6528-508: The nation's capital of Canberra . As temperatures reached 49 °C (120 °F), the New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian called a fresh seven-day state of emergency with effect from 9 am on 3 January 2020. On 23 January 2020 , a Lockheed C-130 Hercules air tanker (N134CG) crashed at Peak View near Cooma while waterbombing a blaze. The aircraft was destroyed, resulting in
6624-497: The nearby town of Taree , to the north. Buses were called in early to take students home before the fire threat became too dangerous. On 9 November 2019, the fire reached Old Bar and Wallabi Point, threatening many properties. The following two days saw the fire reach Tinonee and Taree South, threatening the Taree Service Centre. Water bombers dropped water on the facility to protect it. The fire briefly turned in
6720-454: The need for the public to observe fire safety precautions and highlighted the role of Bush Fire Brigades. It was also largely responsible for preparing legislation that led to the Bush Fires Act of 1949. The Bush Fires Act, 1949 came into effect on 9 December 1949. This legislation consolidated and modernised the law relating to the prevention, control and suppression of bush fires, and gave councils and other authorities wider powers to protect
6816-587: The organisation is the Commissioner. The first NSW RFS Commissioner was Phil Koperberg , who was previously the Director-General of the NSW Department of Bushfire Services since its creation in 1990. In 2007 he stepped down as Commissioner after announcing his candidature for the 2007 state election in which he was elected as the Member for Blue Mountains . In September 2007 Shane Fitzsimmons
6912-482: The populated areas of the Southern Highlands and impacted the townships of Balmoral , Buxton , Bargo , Couridjah and Tahmoor in far south-western Sydney. Substantial property losses occurred across these areas, in particular multiple fire trucks were overrun by fire, with several firefighters taken to hospital and two airlifted in critical condition. Later that night, two firefighters were killed when
7008-654: The season occurred in Lake Clifton, Western Australia , in early May. There has been considerable debate regarding the underlying cause of the intensity and scale of the fires, including the role of fire management practices and climate change , which during the peak of the crisis attracted significant international attention, despite previous Australian fires burning much larger areas ( 1974–75 ) or killing more people ( 2008–09 ). Politicians visiting fire impacted areas received mixed responses, in particular Prime Minister Scott Morrison . An estimated A$ 500 million
7104-456: The senior executive of the Service. These Executive Directors have responsibility for Preparedness & Capability (presently Kyle Stewart), Technology, Finance & Legal (presently Stephen O'Malley), People & Strategy (presently Trina Schmidt), and Field Operations (presently Peter McKechnie). Members of the public who wish to join the NSW RFS will complete an expression of interest on
7200-774: The small communities of Caparra and Bobin. Fanned by near catastrophic conditions, the fire grew considerably on 8 November 2019 and consumed nearly everything in its path. The small community of Caparra lost fourteen homes in a few hours as the bushfire continued towards the small village of Bobin , where numerous homes and the Bobin Public School were destroyed in the fire. Fourteen homes were lost on one street in Bobin. The NSWRFS sent out alerts to people in Killabakh, Upper Lansdowne, Kippaxs, Elands , and Marlee to monitor conditions. 2019 Rally Australia , planned to be
7296-578: The source of the fire and inaccurate warnings, many impacted residents were unaware that the escaped backburn posed a threat to their properties. The fire destroyed numerous houses and buildings, and then jumped the Bells Line of Road into the Grose Valley . On 19 December 2019 the fire caused by the escaped RFS Mt Wilson backburn crossed south of the Grose River. This section of the fire
7392-455: The south west of Port Macquarie under control. A back burn on 28 October got away from New South Wales Rural Fire Service (NSWRFS) volunteers after a sudden wind change pushing the fire south towards Lake Cathie and west over Lake Innes . Port Macquarie and surrounding areas were blanketed in thick smoke on 29 October with ongoing fire activity over the following week caused the sky to have an orange glow. A fire burnt in wilderness areas on
7488-531: The study by Lucas and others defined two new fire weather categories, "very extreme" and "catastrophic". The analysis by the Bushfire CRC , the Australian Bureau of Meteorology , and CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research found that the number of "very high" fire danger days generally increases 2–13% by 2020 for the low scenarios ( global increase by 0.4 °C (0.72 °F) ) and 10–30% for
7584-485: The suburban interface across South Turramurra . One house caught alight in Lyon Avenue, but was saved by quick responding firefighters. As further crews arrived and worked to protect properties, a C-130 Air Tanker made several fire retardant drops directly over firefighters and houses, saving the rest of the suburb. The fire was ultimately brought under control several hours later, with one firefighter injured suffering
7680-717: Was also appointed. In January 1975, the Bush Fires Branch of the NSW Chief Secretary's department integrated with the State Emergency Service and renamed the Bush Fire Service. The Department of Bush Fire Services was established in 1990. Brandon Leyba was appointed Director-General of the Department on 11 May. The Department's main role was in co-ordinating the fire fighting activities of other government agencies such as
7776-410: Was burning across all Australian states and territories . Ecologists from The University of Sydney estimated 480 million mammals, birds, and reptiles were lost since September with concerns that entire species of plants and animals may have been wiped out by bushfire, later expanded to more than a billion. In February 2020 it was reported that researchers from Charles Sturt University found that
7872-701: Was declared for East Gippsland . Significant fires occurred in the Adelaide Hills and Kangaroo Island in South Australia and parts of the ACT . Moderately affected areas were south-eastern Queensland and areas of south-western Western Australia , with a few areas in Tasmania being mildly impacted. On 12 November 2019 catastrophic fire danger was declared in the Greater Sydney region for
7968-534: Was donated by the public at large, international organisations, public figures and celebrities for victim relief and wildlife recovery . Convoys of donated food , clothing and livestock feed were sent to affected areas. Starting from late July early September 2019, fires heavily impacted various regions of the state of New South Wales , such as the North Coast , Mid North Coast , the Hunter Region ,
8064-583: Was empowered to appoint a person to take charge of all bush fire operations during a state of emergency. The Bush Fire Committee replaced the Bush Fire Advisory Committee and had 20 members representing NSW Government departments, local government, the insurance industry, the farming community, the Board of Fire Commissioners, and the Commonwealth Meteorological Bureau. A Standing Committee composed of
8160-533: Was established by the Rural Fires Act 1997 which was assented to on 10 July 1997 and came into force on 1 September 1997. The Rural Fires Act repealed the Bush Fires Act, 1949 thereby dissolving the Bush Fire Council and its Committees. Members of these bodies ceased to hold office but were entitled to hold office on a replacing body. The Rural Fire Service Advisory Council of New South Wales
8256-536: Was established. The Council was to consist of nine representatives with a direct or indirect association with bush fire prevention and control; the Commissioner in charge of bush fire fighting services was ex-officio to be the Chairperson of the Council. The task of the Council was to advise and report to the Minister and Commissioner on any matter relating to the administration of rural fire services, and to advise
8352-491: Was extinguished after 65 megalitres (14 million imperial gallons ; 17 million US gallons ) of reclaimed water were pumped into adjacent wetlands; followed by 260 millimetres (10 in) of rain over five days. In the Port Macquarie suburb of Crestwood a fire started on 26 October from a dry electrical storm. Water bombers were delayed the following day in attempts to bring the fire burning in swampland to
8448-476: Was extinguished on 10 February 2020, having burnt approximately 191,000 hectares (471,971 acres) over 79 days. The Gospers Mountain Fire was ignited by lightning on 26 October near Gospers Mountain in the Wollemi National Park . Over the following 16 days the fire burnt an estimated 56,000 ha (140,000 acres) and was largely managed by the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service. On 11 November
8544-487: Was officially appointed NSW RFS Commissioner. In May 2020, Shane Fitzsimmons commenced in the role of Commissioner of Resilience NSW. Rob Rogers was appointed to the role of Acting Commissioner on 1 May 2020, before being permanently appointed on 16 July. Within the NSW RFS, the head of one of the functional area aligned Directorates within Headquarters is given the corporatised designation Executive Director. Two of
8640-469: Was on 23 January 2020 following the death of a man near Moruya . In New South Wales, the fires burnt through more land than any other blazes in the past 25 years, in addition to being the state's worst bushfire season on record. NSW also experienced the longest continuously burning bushfire complex in Australia's history, having burnt more than 4 million hectares (9,900,000 acres), with 70-metre-high (230 ft) flames being reported. In comparison,
8736-526: Was one of the most intense and catastrophic fire seasons on record in Australia . It included a period of bushfires in many parts of Australia , which, due to its unusual intensity, size, duration, and uncontrollable dimension, was considered a megafire by media at the time. Exceptionally dry conditions, a lack of soil moisture, and early fires in Central Queensland led to an early start to
8832-432: Was removed as of the 14th of June 2022. Currently the Commissioner has determined that certain occupiers of the role of Director have been appointed to the rank of Assistant Commissioner. Previously, subject to the various executive structures in place, the rank of Assistant Commissioner was held by operational Executive Directors / Directors. In addition to the Commissioner, there are four Executive Directors who make up
8928-712: Was responsible for more than 400 deaths, reported by the Medical Journal of Australia. In December 2023 the Sydney Morning Herald reported a large volume of smoke in the Sydney basin resulted from the so called Gospers Mountain "megablaze" after the NSW Rural Fire Service lost control of back burning in November and December 2019. It was claimed that three billion terrestrial vertebrates – the vast majority being reptiles – were affected and some endangered species were believed to be driven to extinction. The cost of dealing with
9024-454: Was the Southern Highlands (1965) bushfire. In 1970 the Bush Fire Committee was replaced by the Bush Fire Council, with members drawn from the various fire fighting authorities from around the state. A special Co-ordinating Committee was established to oversee the co-ordination of fire-fighting and related resources prior to and during the bush fire season, and particularly during bush fire emergencies. A Chief Co-ordinator of Bush Fire Fighting
9120-568: Was then annexed by the NSW Rural Fire Service, which declared a new fire called the Grose Valley Fire. On 21 December, a catastrophic day, the escaped RFS Backburn impacted Mount Victoria, Blackheath , Bell, Clarence , Dargan and Bilpin , resulting in the destruction of dozens of homes. Homes were also lost in Lithgow due to previously escaped Glow Worm Tunnel and Blackfellows Hands Trail backburns. The NSW Rural Fire Service reported
9216-546: Was used. On 6 September 2019, the northern parts of the state experienced extreme fire dangers. Fires included the Long Gully Road fire near Drake which burnt until the end of October, killing two people and destroying 43 homes; the Mount McKenzie Road fire which burnt across the southern outskirts of Tenterfield , and severely injured one person, destroyed one home and badly damaged four homes; and
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