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VFBV News (201)

Wednesday, 29 April 2015 00:00

VFBV's Handy Pocket Book

The VFBV Handy Pocket Book will arrive at Brigades over the next few days with the regular VFBV mailout.

The Pocket Book includes contact details for your District’s VFBV officials, important dates and information on championships, volunteer welfare, the VESEP grants program and issues resolution. 

This is a first of its kind for VFBV and your feedback is welcome at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Monday, 20 April 2015 00:00

VFBV Leadership Course in Demand

Places in this year’s VFBV Leadership Program course have been in demand, with 92 applicants for 50 positions.

The program is funded by VFBV, with additional funding from the Department of Justice to assist with our multi-agency approach, but with such strong demand we were able to make a successful application to Emergency Management Victoria for top up funding sufficient for an extra 10 participants for this year’s course, taking the total to 60.

This is the sixth course, and includes volunteers from CFA, VICSES, Lifesaving Victoria, the Australian Volunteer Coast Guard, Ambulance Victoria CERT and St John Ambulance.

The successful applicants have been advised and the Lilydale and Werribee groups have had their first session.

The VFBV Leadership Program has equipped more than 200 successful participants with Certificate IV in Frontline Management, a nationally recognised qualification provided under the auspices of Chisholm Institute of TAFE.

Wednesday, 01 April 2015 00:00

2015 VFBV State Rural Championships

Torquay A achieved the highest points overall at the 2015 VFBV State Rural Championships, which brought 600 competitors from 46 Brigades to St Arnaud for the weekend’s competition.

Napoleons/Enfield A won Division A with 38 points and Dunrobbin/Nangeela D won Division C with 42 points. St Arnaud, Strathdownie and Hurstbridge all appeared among the placings, District 22 won the Discipline Award, and Greta runners Sarah Hooper and Nathan Hooper won the sprints.

At the 2015 VFBV State Rural Junior Championships, Willaura A won the Champion Team title and the 11-15 Years Aggregate.

Springhurst A won the 11-13 Aggregate, Slaty Creek won the VFBV State President Encouragement Award, Willaura won the Stan Ross Conduct Trophy, Erin Munro of Dunrobbin/Nangeela and Lachlan Peck of Miners Rest won the 11-13 Years sprints, and Tiffany Bussem-Jorgensen of Beazleys Bridge and: Cooper Nelson or Irrewarre won the 11-15 Years sprints.

There will be a full report in the April edition of the Fireman, there are more pictures on the VFBV Facebook page www.facebook.com/cfavol and you can download the full results from both Championships by clicking here.

The Australian Fire Service Medal recognises distinguished service by members of Australian fire services. It is awarded to paid and volunteer members. The AFSM is awarded by the Governor-General on the recommendation of the responsible minister. For CFA and the other Victorian fire services, the responsible minister is the Minister for Police and Emergency Services.

The awards are announced on Australia Day (26 January) and the Queen’s Birthday (June) of each year.  Recipients of the Australian Fire Service Medal are entitled to use the letters “AFSM” after their names to show that their outstanding service has been formally recognised.

All volunteers, auxiliary members and full-time staff of CFA are eligible for the medal.

The sole criterion for the award of the Australian Fire Service Medal is distinguished service.

Visit http://cfaonline.cfa.vic.gov.au/mycfa/Show?pageId=aboutAwards for the CFA Honours & Awards Manual and the Nomination Form.

If you need assistance, contact the CFA Awards Secretariat at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or on 1800 232 636.

Friday, 27 March 2015 00:00

Fiskville Must Be Replaced

VFBV MEDIA RELEASE 26 March 2015

Downloads below - the closure announcement, VFBV's response and VFBV's submission to the Fiskville Inquiry

FISKVILLE MUST BE REPLACED, SAY CFA VOLUNTEERS

Volunteer Fire Brigades Victoria (VFBV), the association representing CFA volunteers, says the closure of the Fiskville training facility is a blow for firefighter training in CFA, and will leave a major hole in the State’s capacity to train Victoria’s firefighters.

Firefighting involves inherent dangers and unpredictable hazards.  In an organisation like CFA, training is critical. Fiskville was a critical component of Victoria’s emergency service training network, and its closure will leave a significant gap.

VFBV President Hans van Hamond AFSM said CFA volunteers want to know there is a plan to replace the large scale and sophisticated training capacity Fiskville has been providing. Easy, frequent and cost effective access to training is critical for fire services, particularly organisations such as CFA.

“VFBV’s major concern through the Fiskville saga has been the safety of all CFA members, but now that the facility is closed, there must be serious and immediate attention paid to meeting the training needs of CFA’s tens of thousands of firefighters,” Mr van Hamond said.

“Fiskville has had a critically important role in CFA’s network of facilities, training local Brigades in that part of Victoria and providing live-in training and specialist programs for CFA personnel from all over the state,” he said.

“Even the recent temporary closure of the facility has led to some Brigades having to travel three to four hours away to visit a training facility with spare capacity.”

CFA’s large, geographically dispersed workforce and the volunteer-based nature of that workforce means that training needs to be available as close as possible to the volunteers’ home location, and where there is a need for multi-day training, long duration experience simulation or learning, accommodation facilities become a necessary component of the state’s training capability.

There is much public attention and emotion now involved with the Fiskville facility, but regardless of how these factors weigh into ultimate decisions, several things are certain;

  • Any training ground used for hot fire or other training must be safe to use
  • Investment to replace Fiskville’s significant state training capability will be required, as the rest of the fire services training network will not cope with the overall training load
  • Firefighters who currently rely on Fiskville as their local training facility must have locally available access to state of the art training
  • Support for any members who have been exposed to health hazards at Fiskville must continue; the closure of the facility does not mean their needs are at an end.

“CFA Brigades protect 60% of suburban Melbourne, regional cities and all of country Victoria every day and night of the year, and Victorians have a right to expect that their volunteers can access and continue to be trained to the professional standards to which the community is entitled,” Mr van Hamond said.

Download the State Government's media release here.

Download VFBV's media release here.

See CFA's announcement, with contact numbers for support services and the Fiskville Enquiry Hotline here.

 

Wednesday, 11 March 2015 00:00

Web Streaming of CFA Radio

<News on listening sets & scanners coming soon>

The VFBV/CFA Joint Communications Committee is pleased to advise that you can now tune in to regional radio dispatch traffic from anywhere in the state by using the free website Broadcastify.

This web streaming service allows you to receive radio comms via your computer, smart phone or tablet, without the need for a listening set, or an upfront cost. 

To hear CFA traffic, go to www.broadcastify.com/listen/stid/152 and select your region.  Official CFA streams are identified by a white star inside a red circle.  For those using smartphones, you may need to install a player from the app store.  Be aware that some free apps might have time restrictions which will stop the streaming after several minutes.

Anyone listening via their mobile phone or tablet should keep track of their data usage to avoid the extra cost of exceeding their monthly data limit.  The VFBV/CFA Joint Communications Committee has requested that CFA publish streaming rates and estimated data use per hour to ensure people can factor that into their decision to use the service.

This service is not designed to replace listening sets, but the streaming service will provide a convenient way to listen for those that prefer a smartphone or computer. The committee is still working very closely with CFA as they progress to tender, and will have news on listening sets very shortly.  

Saturday, 07 March 2015 00:00

2015 VFBV Urban Championships - results

EVENT RESULTS - FINAL

SATURDAY, 7th MARCH

Click here to download Aggregate Spreadsheet and Champion Competitor event scores

Event 1, DISCIPLINE CONTEST

Section A:      

1st

Mildura

93.64 %

2nd

Melton A

90.00 %

3rd

Bendigo

87.27 %

4th

Kooweerup

85.00 %

5th

Dandenong

84.55 %

 

Section B:      

1st

Patterson River

88.64 %

2nd

Benalla

86.82 %

3rd

Morwell

85.91 %

4th

Maldon

84.55 %

5th

Kyneton

84.09 %

 

Section C:      

1st

Knox Group

89.09 %

2nd

Hoppers Crossing

85.45 %

3rd

Whittlesea

82.27 %

4th

Pakenham

81.82 %

5th

Frankston

81.36 %

 

 

Event No. 2 – Ladder Race - One Competitor 

1st

Jackson Dargaville, Kangaroo Flat

6.42 Seconds

2nd

Matt Royal, Maryvale

6.60 Seconds

3rd

Andrew Norman, Narre Warren A

6.65 Seconds

4th

Jake Rennie, Tatura

6.69 Seconds

5th

Jon Murphey, Eaglehawk A

6.88 Seconds


Event  3 - Hydrant Race - One Competitor 

1st

Jackson Dargaville, Kangaroo Flat

11.54 Seconds

2nd

Matt Royal, Maryvale

11.67 Seconds

3rd

Thomas Germon, Wendouree

11.75 Seconds

4th

Joshua Pike, Mildura

11.75 Seconds

5th

Brendan Webbers, Kooweerup

11.90 Seconds

 

Event 4 – B Section Pumper & Ladder – Five Competitors

1st

Corio

15.52 Seconds

2nd

Benalla

15.58 Seconds

3rd

Morwell

16.49 Seconds

4th

Kyneton

17.31 Seconds

5th

Maldon

17.89 Seconds

 

Event No. 5 - C Section Marshall - One Competitor 

1st

Maffra B: Mitch Hawkins

25.57 Seconds

2nd

Warrnambool: A Bishop

26.78 Seconds

3rd

Sebastopol: Shaun Parker

27.06 Seconds

4th

Warracknabeal: Devon Winsall

27.88 Seconds

5th

Eaglehawk B: Mason

28.05 Seconds

 

Event No. 6 - A Section Hose and Ladder Eights

1st

Kangaroo Flat

19.93 Seconds

2nd

Maryvale

20.44 Seconds

3rd

Narre Warren A

20.88 Seconds

4th

Eaglehawk A

21.51 Seconds

5th

Tatura

21.52 Seconds

 

Event  No. 7 - B Section Marshall - One Competitor 

1st

Benalla: Les Palpratt

24.97 Seconds

2nd

Benalla: Cameron Green

25.49 Seconds

3rd

Corio: James Mullins

26.37 Seconds

4th

Corio: Dean Jordan

26.65 Seconds

5th

Patterson River: Mark Mullins

28.15 Seconds

 

Event No. 8 - C Section Hose and Reel Fours

1st

Warrnambool

18.04 Seconds

2nd

Warracknabeal

18.22 Seconds

3rd

Stanhope

19.75 Seconds

4th

Pakenham

19.75 Seconds

5th

Euroa B

20.69 Seconds

 

Event No. 9 - A Section Marshall - One Competitor 

1st

Kangaroo Flat A: Jamie Hart

22.94 Seconds

2nd

Narre Warren A: Dale Hutchinson

24.14 Seconds

3rd

Wendouree: Damon Sutton

24.78 Seconds

4th

Moe

25.04 Seconds

5th

Melton A: Bailey Rhodes

25.38 Seconds

 

Event  No. 10 - B Section Hose and Reel Sixes 

1st

St Arnaud

29.34 Seconds

2nd

Corio

29.99 Seconds

3rd

Patterson River

30.46 Seconds

4th

Sunbury

32.33 Seconds

5th

Kyneton

34.79 Seconds

 

 

Torchlight Procession

1st

Knox Group

93.00 %

=2nd

Diamond Creek, Hoppers Crossing & Melton A

90.00 %

5th

Mornington

89.00 %

 

 

 

SUNDAY, 8th MARCH

 

Event 11– C Section Pumper & Ladder – Five Competitors

1st

Sale – NEW RECORD

15.94 Seconds

2nd

Whittlesea

19.14 Seconds

3rd

Stanhope

19.28 Seconds

4th

Narre Warren B

20.52 Seconds

5th

Warracknabeal

20.78 Seconds

 

Event 12 - A Section Marshall - Two Competitors 

1st

Kangaroo Flat: Thomas Dargaville & Jamie Hart

14.29 Seconds

2nd

Narre Warren: Dale Hutchinson & Steve Miles

15.31 Seconds

3rd

Bendigo: Leigh Schintler & Nigel Anderson

15.55 Seconds

4th

Wendouree: Craig Briody & Thomas Germon

15.62 Seconds

5th

Maryvale: Dallas Flowers & Chris Johnson

15.65 Seconds

 

Event 13 - B Section Hose and Ladder Eights 

1st

Pyramid Hill

23.21 Seconds

2nd

Werribee

23.71 Seconds

3rd

St Arnaud

24.02 Seconds

4th

Patterson River

24.22 Seconds

5th

Corio

24.48 Seconds

 

Event 14 - C Section Marshall - Two Competitors

1st

Warracknabeal: Cameron Whelan & Shaune Winsall

16.38 Seconds

2nd

Maffra B: Mitch Hawkins & Jess Clark

16.51 Seconds

3rd

Sale: David Monck & Gil Aitken

17.02 Seconds

4th

Stanhope: Lachlan Armstrong & Jack Cockroft

17.21 Seconds

5th

Maffra B: Mitch Trail & Braden Hargreaves

17.55 Seconds

 

Event 15 - A Section Hose and Reel Eights

1st

Kangaroo Flat

26.32 Seconds

2nd

Drouin/Bunyip

27.76 Seconds

3rd

Harvey

28.15 Seconds

4th

Narre Warren

28.91 Seconds

5th

Wendouree

38.37 Seconds

 

Event 16 - B Section Marshall - Two Competitors

1st

Corio: Dean Jordan & James Mullins

15.63 Seconds

2nd

Patterson River: Tim Mullins & Mark Mullins

16.02 Seconds

3rd

Geelong West: Mark Simons & Ben Simons

16.08 Seconds

4th

Benalla: David Smith & Mitch Beaton

16.57 Seconds

5th

Horsham: Marcus Williamson & Paul Hollier

16.79 Seconds

 

Event 17 - C Section Hose and Reel Sixes

1st

Warrnambool

31.27 Seconds

2nd

Maffra B

31.37 Seconds

3rd

Warracknabeal

32.87 Seconds

4th

Pakenham

33.92 Seconds

5th

Eaglehawk B

34.27 Seconds

 

 

Event 18 - A Section Hose, Hydrant and Pumper

1st

Dandenong

12.88 Seconds

2nd

Wendouree

13.27 Seconds

3rd

Drouin/Bunyip

13.52 Seconds

4th

Swan Hill

13.87 Seconds

5th

Mandurah WA

14.13 Seconds

 

Event 19 - B Section Y Coupling and Ladder Eights 

1st

Corio

34.73 Seconds

2nd

St Arnaud

35.09 Seconds

3rd

Patterson River

35.55 Seconds

4th

Morwell

36.23 Seconds

5th

Sunbury

38.53 Seconds

 

Event 20 - C Section Hose, Hydrant and Pumper

1st

Stanhope

14.25 Seconds

2nd

Sale

15.62 Seconds

3rd

Whittlesea

16.72 Seconds

4th

Pakenham

16.74 Seconds

5th

Seymour

17.13 Seconds

 

Event 21 - A Section Y Coupling and Ladder Eights 

1st

Tatura

31.44 Seconds

2nd

Harvey WA

33.31 Seconds

3rd

Narre Warren A

33.77 Seconds

4th

Eaglehawk A

35.13 Seconds

5th

Swan Hill

36.16 Seconds

 

Event 22 - B Section Hose, Hydrant and Pumper  

1st

Geelong West

14.33 Seconds

2nd

Benalla

14.82 Seconds

3rd

Corio

14.84 Seconds

4th

Morwell

15.16 Seconds

5th

Horsham

15.38 Seconds

 

Event 23 – C Section Y Coupling and Ladder Eights 

1st

Warracknabeal – NEW RECORD

34.28 Seconds

2nd

Sale

39.63 Seconds

3rd

Hoppers Crossing

41.99 Seconds

4th

Stanhope

42.23 Seconds

5th

Eaglehawk B

42.67 Seconds

 

Event 24 - A Section Hose and Reel Sixes 

1st

Drouin-Bunyip

28.01 Seconds

2nd

Bendigo

28.16 Seconds

3rd

Maffra A

28.33 Seconds

4th

Wendouree

29.33 Seconds

5th

Kangaroo Flat

33.02 Seconds

 

 

MONDAY, MARCH 9th  

Event 25 – A Section Pumper & Ladder – Five Competitors

1st

Drouin/Bunyip

14.28 Seconds

2nd

Eaglehawk A

14.48 Seconds

3rd

Wendouree

14.76 Seconds

4th

Swan Hill

14.84 Seconds

5th

Kangaroo Flat

14.89 Seconds

 

Event 26 - B Section Y Coupling - Four Competitors

1st

Corio

8.08 Seconds

2nd

Benalla

8.11 Seconds

3rd

Bairnsdale/Lakes Entrance

8.19 Seconds

4th

Geelong West

8.52 Seconds

5th

Morwell

8.85 Seconds

 

Event 27 - C Section Hose and Ladder Fives 

1st

Whittlesea

23.28 Seconds

2nd

Hoppers Crossing

23.34 Seconds

3rd

Maffra B

23.59 Seconds

4th

Sale

24.22 Seconds

5th

Knox Group

25.15 Seconds

 

Event 28 - A Section Y Coupling - Four Competitors 

1st

Kangaroo Flat

7.55 Seconds

2nd

Eaglehawk A

7.67 Seconds

3rd

Narre Warren A

7.80 Seconds

4th

Swan Hill

7.93 Seconds

5th

Harvey W.A.

7.98 Seconds

 

Event 29 - B Section Hose and Reel Eights

1st

Morwell

29.51 Seconds

2nd

Kyneton

30.83 Seconds

3rd

Corio

31.22 Seconds

4th

Patterson River

31.53 Seconds

5th

St Arnaud

32.54 Seconds

 

Event 30 - C Section Y Coupling - Four Competitors 

1st

Warracknabeal

8.13 Seconds

2nd

Euroa B

8.47 Seconds

3rd

Maffra B

8.57 Seconds

4th

Narre Warren B

8.58 Seconds

5th

Sale

8.80 Seconds

 

Event 31 - Champion Fours 

1st

Maryvale

16.53 Seconds

2nd

Wendouree

17.03 Seconds

3rd

Moe

17.24 Seconds

4th

Traralgon

17.55 Seconds

5th

Bendigo

17.77 Seconds

FINAL AGGREGATE RESULTS

Dry Aggregate

1st

Kangaroo Flat

40 Points

2nd

Narre Warren A

16 Points

3rd

Maryvale

10 Points

 

Wet Aggregate

1st

Corio

56 Points

2nd

Drouin/Bunyip

48 Points

3rd

Sale

40 Points

 

SECTION AGGREGATES:

‘A’ SECTION

1st

Kangaroo Flat

76 Points

2nd

Drouin/Bunyip

48 Points

3rd

Wendouree

40 Points

 

‘B’ SECTION

1st

Corio

77 Points

2nd

Benalla

45 Points

=3rd

Morwell, Patterson River & St Arnaud

34 Points

 

‘C’ SECTION

1st

Warracknabeal

52 Points

2nd

Sale

44 Points

3rd

Warrnambool

37 Points

 

2015 CHAMPION BRIGADE: Kangaroo Flat

 

The team members of Kangaroo Flat are Coach David Dargaville, and competitors:

 

Jackson Dargaville

Tomas Dargaville

Shane Every

Shane Harris

Tyler Harris

Jamie Hart

Jack Mactier

Adam Mellis

James Murphy

Craig Peters

Andrew Smith

 

 

Results for the 2015 Champion Competitor:

1st

Jackson Dargaville (Kangaroo Flat)

16 Points

=2nd

Jamie Hart (Kangaroo Flat) & Thomas Germon (Wendouree)

15 Points

=4th

James Hall (Drouin/Bunyip), Steve Forrest (Drouin/Bunyip) & Matt Royal (Maryvale)

13 Points

 

 

The Victoria / Western Australia Challenge took place after the final event, the Champion Fours, and was won by the Western Australian team in a time of 29.15 seconds with the Victorian team 29.96 seconds. The competitors of the two teams for the Victoria / Western Australia Challenge were:

 

Western Australian:

            Tim Egerton-Green     Harvey

            Cory Goodhill             Mandurah

            Scott Hendon              Mandurah

            Phil Johnson                Mandurah

            Luke Jones                  Harvey

            Levi Pope                    Harvey

            Steve Rees                  Harvey

            Jarrod White               Mandurah

            Catcher Vaea Peterson, Carterton N.Z.

            & Coach - Richard Epplett, Carterton N.Z.  

 

Victoria:

Jackson Dargaville,    

Tom Dargaville &

Jamie Hart                  Kangaroo Flat

Evan Bramley             Drouin/Bunyip

Michael Coleman        Maffra

Dale Hutchinson         Narre Warren

Nathan Rennie                        Tatura

Matt Royal                  Maryvale

 

Catcher Peter Fiddes, Tatura

& Coach David Dargaville, Kangaroo Flat

VFBV MEDIA RELEASE 25 February 2014

The CFA volunteers’ association, Volunteer Fire Brigades Victoria (VFBV), has welcomed the State Government’s decision to extend Emergency Medical Response (EMR) to more CFA fire stations.

With EMR, CFA crews trained in advanced first aid and equipped with oxygen and defibrillators are despatched to urgent ambulance calls, arriving and starting resuscitation of the patient minutes earlier, significantly increasing the patient’s chances of survival.

VFBV Chief Executive Officer Andrew Ford says five volunteer Brigades have been providing EMR response since 2008 under the pilot program, with five Integrated Brigades joining them in late 2011.

“CFA volunteer and paid firefighters at ten brigades across the suburbs of Melbourne and provincial centres have achieved great success with Emergency Medical Response, saving a number of lives,” Mr Ford said.

“The official study that shows EMR can significantly increase the patients’ survival rate matches the volunteer Brigades’ experience, and expansion of the program can only be a good thing, especially in country areas, where ambulance response times can be quite high,” he said.

“The State Government’s announcement of $5 million to extend the program is a good start; the cost of EMR equipment and training for a volunteer Brigade is quite modest, especially for the considerable benefits it can produce.”

The volunteer Brigades achieving success with EMR since 2008 are; Berwick, Edithvale, Mornington, South Morang and Whittlesea. Dozens of volunteers contributed and responded to the evaluation study, indicating they were extremely happy in performing the EMR role, and reporting the extra skills to be useful at other fire related call types, such as car accidents and rescue events.

Ends…

VFBV Media Release - Wednesday, 25 February 2015

The CFA volunteers’ association, Volunteer Fire Brigades Victoria (VFBV), has welcomed the State Government’s decision to extend Emergency Medical Response (EMR) to more CFA fire stations.

With EMR, CFA crews trained in advanced first aid and equipped with oxygen and defibrillators are despatched to urgent ambulance calls, arriving and starting resuscitation of the patient minutes earlier, significantly increasing the patient’s chances of survival.

VFBV Chief Executive Officer Andrew Ford says five volunteer Brigades have been providing EMR response since 2008 under the pilot program, with five Integrated Brigades joining them in late 2011.

“CFA volunteer and paid firefighters at ten brigades across the suburbs of Melbourne and provincial centres have achieved great success with Emergency Medical Response, saving a number of lives,” Mr Ford said.

“The official study that shows EMR can significantly increase the patients’ survival rate matches the volunteer Brigades’ experience, and expansion of the program can only be a good thing, especially in country areas, where ambulance response times can be quite high,” he said.

“The State Government’s announcement of $5 million to extend the program is a good start; the cost of EMR equipment and training for a volunteer Brigade is quite modest, especially for the considerable benefits it can produce.”

The volunteer Brigades achieving success with EMR since 2008 are; Berwick, Edithvale, Mornington, South Morang and Whittlesea. Dozens of volunteers contributed and responded to the evaluation study, indicating they were extremely happy in performing the EMR role, and reporting the extra skills to be useful at other fire related call types, such as car accidents and rescue events.

Page 7 of 15
CFA Volunteers are the unpaid professionals of our Emergency Services. VFBV is their united voice, and speaks on behalf of Victoria's 60,000 CFA Volunteers.

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