Society & Culture Is there something odd about CFA volunteers?

[peasantbruh69]

Yep I can confirm. I have this weird mate who likes fires a little bit too much. He also bought a shark costume and rocked up to the local footy and started dancing around on the sidelines. They didn't even want a mascot, nobody on the team even knew the guy

 

[Procrastinator35]

A guy I grew up with was into fires in a big way while growing up. Never missed the chance to make a bonfire. Joined the CFA as soon as he could.

Nearly burnt down our family home as an 8 year old & if my 5 years older bro hadn't of been home, I'd of succeeded in doing so.

Between the ages of 8-12, it's fair to say I was infatuated by it....Though grew out of it & never had any inkling to join the CFA or become a firery....Couldn't imagine a worse way to die.

 

[GreyWind]

Wouldn't make financial sense to maintain a professional brigade in most areas.

Totally agree, from what I've heard the CFA are really struggling to fill full time positions in Portland (a brand new station as well) because nobody wants to go there.

 

[Demosthenes]

That's not a Greens policy. You made it up.

It is true that the Greens policy explicitly supports hazard reduction burns.

It is also true that they have supported or proposed a lot of environmental legislation that restricts the ability of fire authorities to conduct those burns.

 

[Demosthenes]

Nearly burnt down our family home as an 8 year old & if my 5 years older bro hadn't of been home, I'd of succeeded in doing so.

Between the ages of 8-12, it's fair to say I was infatuated by it....Though grew out of it & never had any inkling to join the CFA or become a firery....Couldn't imagine a worse way to die.

I'd guess that most boys that age go through a period of fascination with fire.

 

[Procrastinator35]

I'd guess that most boys that age go through a period of fascination with fire.

Yep....A rite of passage I'd reckon.

 

[little graham]

- are cheer squad members a bit odd?

Not if you're after a quickie.

 

[little graham]

Plenty of other reports if you google. What's going on?

http://www.news.com.au/national/cfa-volunteer-prime-bushfire-suspect/story-e6frfkp9-1225699688188

http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/ipad/...fires-court-told/story-fn6bqvxz-1226170164101

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/cf...drunk-court-told/story-e6frf7jo-1225882798887

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2010-05-07/cfa-volunteer-fined-500-for-starting-fire/426316

http://www.smh.com.au/national/cfa-volunteer-charged-with-lighting-fires-20090205-7yzm.html

http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/b...nielz-to-start-bushfires-20151216-glou9m.html

The former chief of the CFS in the south east of SA (known bushfire region) got done for using the CFS credit card to do his shopping with. This campaigner was a former police officer. He plead not guilty and dragged the case out. He was suspended with pay until the conviction. At the last point he plead guilty. The fine was less than what he was paid while waiting for trial. His lawyer was the good mate of the pedofile magistrate peter Liddy. Look that campaigner up, his name is Eugene McGee.

People are losing homes in SA because of lack of resources. The ruling class don't care.

 

[CLUBMEDhurst]

Have only encountered one case of pyrophilia in over 20 years as a mental health clinician.

volunteer firefighter

 

[Bomberboyokay]

Victoria's CFA, union Enterprise Bargaining Agreement dispute explained

A bitter dispute between Victoria's Country Fire Authority (CFA) and the United Firefighters Union (UFU) has dominated headlines this month.

The CFA says it supports a wage increase for career firefighters, but has rejected union conditions put forward in a proposed new Enterprise Bargaining Agreement (EBA).

It says it has serious concerns about the proposal and fears it will marginalise CFA volunteers.

The union has attempted to hose down those fears. It says the issue has been overly politicised and volunteers will continue their roles as usual.

How did it all start?

EBA talks between the UFU and the CFA broke down in October last year.

The State Government asked the Fair Work Commission to intervene, and the industrial umpire handed down its recommendations on June 1.

Among Fair Work commissioner Julius Roe's non-binding recommendations, was a contentious decision that a minimum of seven professional firefighters be dispatched to incidents "before commencement of safe firefighting operations."

But in his recommendations commissioner Roe said the findings would not affect volunteers.

Since the decision, the CFA board has voted against the proposal and hundreds of firefighters have taken to the streets to protest.

What are the CFA's concerns?

The CFA board has voted against the proposal, saying it has 14 areas of concern about the agreement, including that some clauses may be unlawful.

"The proposed EBA undermines volunteers, our culture, allows the UFU operational and management control of [the] CFA and are discriminatory," it said in a statement.

It said it does not support mandatory staff numbers to attend fires, and fears any changes could sideline volunteers, many of whom have given years of service.

The CFA named one proposed change which it said could be interpreted as excluding volunteers from conducting training.

It also said it has advice from the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission that some clauses do not comply with the Equal Opportunity Act.

The concern centres around the proposal's lack of flexible and part-time work hours, which could help the CFA attract more women.

A Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission report released this year said women made up only 3 per cent of paid firefighters and 15 per cent of volunteer firefighters.

The CFA said one of the key issues was the proposal would allow the union greater involvement over operational decisions.

It said consultation requirements would be an unnecessary burden on to day-to-day operations.

It also suggested the union had taken advantage of the wording of clauses in the past, which allowed them to veto decisions over uniforms and equipment.

What does the union say?

The UFU says it does not want to take work off volunteers, but wants firefighters to be safe.

It said volunteers acting as incident controllers would still have the capacity to give orders.

The UFU's Peter Marshall said a requirement to have seven paid firefighters sent to every scene was a safety issue, and it would deliver certainty that a second truck would be dispatched.

He said sometimes a second truck had not shown up as expected because of the unavailability of a volunteer crew.

The union said the rule of seven would only apply to 31 stations out of 1,200 and whoever arrived first at a fire, either paid firefighters or volunteers, could begin fighting it.

It said a dispute resolution officer would be in place in the case of disagreements over concerns the union would have a greater say.

Mr Marshall said the State Government's credibility would be at stake if it did not act on recommendations made by the Fair Work Commission.

Where to from here?

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews said he is confident the issues can be resolved.

The proposal needs to be ratified by the Cabinet and Emergency Services Minister Jane Garrett has consistently taken a hardline against the UFU's log of claims.

But others in the Government have described recommendations from the Fair Work Commission as "fair and balanced."

There was speculation Ms Garrett would have to back down or resign from her position but the minister refused to say whether she threatened to quit.

Under state legislation, only Ms Garrett has the power to force the CFA board to sign a new EBA.

The issue has also now emerged in the federal political spotlight.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull backed CFA volunteers at a rally in Melbourne and has vowed to amend the Fair Work Act to protect volunteers.

Andrew Ford, from Volunteers Fire Brigades Victoria, said the group would welcome a change to federal industrial laws to end the dispute.

Emergency Management Commissioner Craig Lapsley has been appointed to help implement the deal and get all parties on board once an agreement is reached.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-06-08/victoria-cfa-union-eba-dispute-explained/7492684

Sounds like CFA volunteers are worried about professionals replacing them, but realise people don't really care about that, so are playing the 'union requirements affect safety' card, a terrifying thought for those of us in Melbourne.

 

[Bomberboyokay]

Years ago I read a story in The Age about how Melbourne outer suburban councils get to choose between the MFB and CFA, some choose the CFA because it's cheaper, then discover the response times can be not great. But that was about 7 years ago.

 

[Silent Alarm]

Years ago I read a story in The Age about how Melbourne outer suburban councils get to choose between the MFB and CFA, some choose the CFA because it's cheaper, then discover the response times can be not great. But that was about 7 years ago.

It takes six minutes for them to get their keys and clothes, fifteen minutes to get to the centre, and half an hour to tell everyone about it

 

[Bomberboyokay]

http://www.mfb.vic.gov.au/About-Us/StationMap.html

MFB inside the red line, CFA outside it

 

[Doss]

Some fairly surprising suburbs outside the boundary...Craigieburn, Eltham, Dandenong, Greenvale, Rowville...

 

[Bomberboyokay]

Big chunks of Melbourne.

 

[Hawk Dork]

I live in a small town in the Qld bush and we have both

 

[craigos]

Are firefighters still seen as some sort of hunky heman sexual object? I'd assume they've been ousted by guys that play VFL reserves for Box Hill.

 

[Adelaide Docker]

Batshit crazy, yes. But it's a hell of a job, you'd have to be a bit insane to want to do it. Tremendous respect for them though.

 

[skilts]

A mate who joined our local C.F.A. and S.E.S. told me he did so because it would mean that some people would attend his funeral. Weird!

Props to him though, he featured heavily in the Black Saturday bush fires (including a period of about four weeks before Black Saturday), for both organisations. He related a story of being at the fires at Churchill, in South Gippsland. Apparently, he and his three mates were driving along a road, which was not really close to the fire front, but it was still stinking hot. As they drove past a gum tree alongside the road, the thing just spontaneously exploded - a cylinder full of molten oil. Had the windows of their twin cab not been closed, they would have all died. He shit himself, which made him feel bad, until he looked at the other three (much more experienced) blokes and realised they were just as scared as he was.

Anyone, no matter to which organisation they belong, who puts their life at risk under such circumstances, is deserving of our respect. I've only ever been involved in fighting one bush fire, and I've never been so scared in all of my life.

 

[peternorth]

mayhem, chaos on the major roads. 3AW providing live updates. Callers are not irate interestingly, and surprisingly given they will block areas on spring street today.

one caller says block up melbourne, but tom elliott said it will hurt a lot of innocent people (in the city)

 

[Frank Bunn]

A huge fire at Anakie last night. Probably still burning. 70,000 litres of hand sanitiser. Hopefully there's cctv of how it started.

Fire crews called to Anakie shed blaze

A Watch and Act message is in place for a shed fire in Anakie. Emergency services were called to Ballan Road just after 6pm Tuesday, with at least 25 crews on scene at one stage. The CFA has told…

www.bay939.com.au

 

[peternorth]

A huge fire at Anakie last night. Probably still burning. 70,000 litres of hand sanitiser. Hopefully there's cctv of how it started.

Fire crews called to Anakie shed blaze

A Watch and Act message is in place for a shed fire in Anakie. Emergency services were called to Ballan Road just after 6pm Tuesday, with at least 25 crews on scene at one stage. The CFA has told…

www.bay939.com.au

Probably the anti hand sanitizer crew

 

[ioppolo]

Probably the anti hand sanitizer crew

About 4 years late don't you think?