Fire and Rescue NSW - Organisation

Organisation

• Permanent Stations

A permanent firefighter is a full-time firefighter. Permanent firefighters work in a fire station as part of a platoon. Each fire station has four platoons on rotating shifts each containing at least 3 firefighters of various ranks, plus a Station Officer. The number depends on the size and nature of the fire station. Each platoon is supervised by a Station Officer. Each fire station is part of a zone containing between nine and 27 fire stations and headed by a zone commander. These zones are then grouped in regions (metropolitan, regional north, regional south, and regional west) headed by a Regional Commander.

• Retained Stations

A retained station is a part-time station where retained firefighters work. Even though these firefighters work part-time, it should be noted that these members of the community (who often have other full-time employment) are considered professional firefighters who have undergone training so they can attend the same jobs as permanent firefighters. The retained station is not a permanently staffed station, meaning the firefighters are on-call from home or work rather than on duty at the station. However, retained stations respond to emergencies 24 hours a day. Retained firefighters use the same vehicles, equipment and uniforms as their permanent counterparts, the only visible differences being their shoulder and helmet ranks which are red as opposed to white/black.

In mid–2012, the NSW Government announced that A$64 m in employee–expense savings over four year will be cut from the budget of Fire & Rescue NSW; with resultant temporary closures of some smaller fire stations across metropolitan Sydney. The Fire Brigade Employees' Union lodged a dispute in the NSW Industrial Relations Commission, with union claims that the station closures will put lives at risk.

• Mixed Stations

Some stations employ a mixture of Permanent and Retained Firefighters. This arrangement is common in larger country towns such as Bathurst and Orange where the nearest backup would otherwise be some distance away. The station would typically have one appliance manned by permanent staff as first response, with additional vehicles being manned by retained staff as required. The station may have Permanent day and night shifts or be day shift only, with retained staff manning all appliances at night when they are less hampered by work or other commitments.

• Community fire unit volunteers

Community fire units (CFUs) are volunteer teams of local residents trained to safeguard their homes during a bushfire, until the fire brigades can get there, or to 'mop up' after a fire has passed so fire units can be released to attend more urgent incidents. CFU members are not firefighters. The aim of the CFU program is to reduce the impact of bushfires on the community and to protect life and property from bushfires. A typical team is made up of six to 12 members. Recruitment is within the local community. Local fire stations conduct regular training sessions with volunteers. The training focus is on bushfire education, prevention and preparation.