The NSW Rural Fire Service Association ( RFSA ) is the official representative body for the volunteers and staff of the New South Wales Rural Fire Service , which is the World's largest volunteer firefighting organisation.
54-594: RFSA may refer to one of the following: NSW Rural Fire Service Association , the representative body for the volunteers and staff of the New South Wales Rural Fire Service. Russian Federal Space Agency , a former name of Roscosmos, the state corporation of the Russian Federation responsible for space flights, cosmonautics programs, and aerospace research. Topics referred to by
108-593: A Memorial Garden at the State Training Academy in Dubbo dedicated to those NSW RFS members and contractors who died in the line of duty was unveiled. The Memorial Garden design consists of two semi-circular memorial walls encompassing a bronze statue of a NSW RFS firefighter leaning on a rakehoe and a bronze propeller blade replica from Bomber 134 which crashed near Cooma in 2020. It lists the names of NSW RFS members and contractors who lost their lives in
162-437: 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 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
216-714: A number of volunteers met to discuss the establishment of a state wide organisation which would represent all members of the Service, both salaried and volunteers. It was from these discussions that it was determined to disband the FCOA and to establish the RFSA as the peak representative body. The objectives of the NSW Rural Fire Service Association Inc (RFSA) are to: The RFSA is a bipartisan organisation and seeks consensus among all stakeholders of
270-612: 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 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
324-537: 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 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
378-629: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages NSW Rural Fire Service Association The Association was established from the Fire Control Officers Association (FCOA) that represented the views of the Fire Control Officers employed by Local Government Councils to the NSW Department of Bushfire Services. In 1996 a group of these Officers and
432-578: Is led by its Commissioner , Rob Rogers AFSM , who reports to 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
486-555: 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
540-471: Is the creation and funding of the RFSA Welfare Fund, which provides assistance for members in times of need. The RFSA provides annual scholarships to enhance the knowledge, skills and personal development of our members so they can best serve the community and achieve their individual goals.<ref. The annual scholarships are available to both NSW RFS volunteers and staff. A key objective of
594-614: The Governor of NSW the authority to proclaim bush fire districts where none had previously been proclaimed. Essential to 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,
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#1732772716756648-792: The 10 person board of Directors every two years. The RFSA is formally recognised within the Rural Fires Act 1997 as the representative body for members of the New South Wales Rural Fire Service . In order to represent members, the RFSA has seats on all Statutory and Consultative Committees which relate to the Rural Fire Service. As a non-partisan body the RFSA has a long history of building strong working relationships with all sides of Government and its strong position has led to various major changes in Legislation and Government funding. One such outcome
702-657: The Association to provide to volunteers families whilst at the same time Gerni donated a large number of wet and dry vacuum cleaners for distribution to brigades. In 2021 the RFSA established a clothing and lifestyle product brand known as Spirit Of Us which produces and sells a range of Australian made latest style casual clothing and headwear. The range has received public endorsement by well known celebrities including actor and director Sam Neill and Australian music legend Diesel . New South Wales Rural Fire Service The New South Wales Rural Fire Service (NSW RFS)
756-860: The Board of Fire Commissioners, and the Commonwealth Meteorological Bureau. A Standing Committee composed of 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
810-653: 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 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
864-545: 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;
918-518: 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
972-605: The Division. The Division executives include Chairperson, Secretary, 1 x Delegate to the State Council and Alternate Delegates to the State Council. The State Council is the RFSA’s governing body with a Chairperson and Delegate from each of 17 RFSA Divisions. Each Division correlates to NSW Rural Fire Service’s Districts/Teams/Zones, ensuring comprehensive state-wide representation. The State Council are responsible for electing
1026-628: The Forestry Commission (now State Forests) and the Bush Fire Brigades. The Minister for Local Government 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,
1080-1111: 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
1134-503: 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
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#17327727167561188-489: The RFS. It is not a union; the RFSA constitution prohibits involvement in activities that relate to industrial negotiations for RFS employees. The RFSA’s State Board oversees the day-to-day running of the Association. It reviews and approves strategies and action plans for the continuing development of the Association. The State Board comprises both volunteer and staff members of the Rural Fire Service in NSW, bringing together an appropriate mix of skills and experience to address
1242-656: The RFSA has distributed millions of dollars in grants. The RFSA is the primary sponsor of the NSW RFS Young Members Group (YMG) which is a group of ten elected young volunteer members between the ages of 18 – 25 years. The primary purpose of the Young Members Group is to advise the Membership Services Consultative Committee as well as other areas of the NSW RFS as appropriate. Primary roles of
1296-401: The RFSA is to distribute a high percentage of proceeds generated from their funding programs as grants to NSW RFS volunteer brigades and support groups to improve the level of equipment, training and welfare of their members; and provide an overall community benefit. All NSW RFS Brigades and Districts can apply for a Grant individually or collectively and since the inception of the grants scheme
1350-424: 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
1404-476: The YMG include providing advice on NSW RFS Service Standards open for comment that affect young members through existing Policy and Service Standard feedback processes, promoting and providing advice on issues affecting young members; assisting in developing strategies that might enhance the experience of young people in the NSW RFS; providing advice on recruitment and retention strategies relating to young people; raising
1458-481: The affairs of the RFSA. The RFSA has 17 Divisions across New South Wales which each have a Chair and Delegate who collectively form the State Council. The divisions are made up of several Branches aligned to the Rural Fire Districts within them. Delegates are appointed by each Rural Fire Brigade. The Branch executives include Chairperson, Secretary, Delegates to the Division and Alternate Delegates to
1512-583: 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
1566-539: The association. The association is funded largely through the operation of fundraising raffles to the public of NSW. It also relies upon donations and their RFSA Welfare Fund is registered with the Australian Taxation Office as a Deductible Gift Recipient organisation which allows supporters to make tax deductible donations over $ 2. Various corporations have supported the work of the RFSA including LEGO who in 2020 donated thousands of LEGO kits for
1620-553: 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 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
1674-461: 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 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
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1728-487: 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
1782-590: 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 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
1836-493: 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
1890-1069: 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
1944-502: The line of duty. The memorial was established under a partnership between the Association and the New South Wales Rural Fire Service who jointly funded the construction. The RFSA is classified as a large not-for-profit charity and registered with the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC). In 2012, the Association established a not-for-profit company NSW RFSA to fund the objectives and activities of
1998-485: The main responsibility for bushfire management was vested in individual local councils in dedicated bush fire areas as determined under 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
2052-442: 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
2106-524: 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
2160-523: 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
2214-528: 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 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
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2268-664: The profile of young members within the NSW RFS and assisting in developing communication strategies for young members. The RFSA is committed to providing member welfare for those in need of assistance or who are experiencing hardship. They have a broad range of measures in place, supporting the work of the NSW RFS Chaplains and Critical Incident Support Services who provide care for volunteers, staff and their families. The Associations welfare fund assists injured firefighters, as well as those who have suffered loss or damage to their homes, farms and livestock. On 5 August 2022,
2322-405: The same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title RFSA . 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=RFSA&oldid=1254000783 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description
2376-401: 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
2430-556: 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 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
2484-545: Was a new ‘slow down to 40km/h rule’, which was adopted by the NSW Government in September 2018 under a 12-month trial, and permanently implemented in September 2019, with some amendments stemming from input from RFSA and other stakeholders. The RFSA provides opportunities for Members to gain skills and knowledge are supported by the RFSA by ongoing sponsorship of NSW RFS programs, including: Another RFSA initiative
2538-717: 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
2592-419: 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 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
2646-533: 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
2700-536: 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
2754-487: 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
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#17327727167562808-432: 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
2862-522: 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
2916-535: Was the introduction of the presumptive legislation for firefighters, amending the Workers Compensation legislation to take the burden of proof off NSW firefighters who are diagnosed with one of 12 prescribed cancers and meet the applicable minimum employment periods. The legislation was passed by the NSW Parliament in 2018, with the support of RFSA alongside other stakeholders. Another outcome
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