Weekly Newsletter - 2nd September 2020

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Date: 5th September - 11th September

• First Call: Crew B
• Second Call: Crew A

None

The ever-reliable pager service will be turned off next month. Whilst most members of the Brigade now use SMS and BART, a couple of pagers are still in use. Unfortunately there is no direct replacement for this service.

The end of this service places even greater emphasis on member's personal mobile phones; our ability to turn out is now directly reliant on members having access to receive SMS and BART messages. The following tips can help improve the reliability of your mobile phone:

• Keep your phone connected to home or office WiFi - this allows BART to connect directly to the Internet and avoids dead-spots around your house;
• Add the DFES SMS numbers[1] to a contact which is given priority status - this will ensure your SMS alert is audible even if your phone is set to silent;
• Keep your phone in a known coverage area within your house (although also in ear-shot);
• Use a suitably audible SMS alert for DFES messages - something long and loud

Team leaders should use BART to monitor the status of team members responding to an incident. If a member that should be expected to respond has not updated their status in BART, phone them to confirm they have received the turn-out message.

A process for turning out the Brigade in the event of a wide-spread mobile phone outage is currently being developed and will be tested at a future date.

[1] DFES SMS numbers are:

• 0427 986 373
• 0427 203 462
• 0447 311 559
• 0427 278 415

The auto-feed mechanism on the Light Tanker electric hose reel has failed and been temporarily removed from service. The electric wind on the hose reel is still functional, however the hose must be manually fed onto the reel to ensure a neat lay. Please ensure you are wearing appropriate gloves when feeding the hose.

Repairs to the auto-feed mechanism are being investigated.

The Mundaring Firefighters School is running their Practical Crew Leader training course at Sawyers Valley this Saturday, from 09:00. All attendees have been notified, and the training is not expected to conflict with normal Saturday morning activities.

Both appliances will be used for this training on Saturday afternoon, however they should remain available for normal call-outs.

At Monday night's meeting Elton proposed that the usual Saturday morning vehicle checks be moved to an alternative time (currently Tuesday evening). This will allow all of Saturday morning to be dedicated to training, and facilitate a larger number of members to participate in Saturday morning activities.

It is proposed that the Team Leaders for each rostered crew coordinate the vehicle checks for the week.

If you have any questions or comments, please contact Adrian or Elton.

No updates.

The latest training calendar from the Mundaring Fire School is attached.

Also discussed at Monday's meeting was the date and venue for this year's Annual Lunch. A small sub-committee has been formed to work out the details.

If you have any suggestions for this year's lunch please contact Vicki.

• Thursday 3rd: Thursday Work Group, starting 10:30
• Saturday 5th: Training - Turn Out and Arrival, starting 09:30
• Saturday 5th: Practical Crew Leader Course
• Tuesday 8th: Vehicle Checks - Crew B

• The Conversation: Humans see just 4.7km into the distance. So how can we truly understand what the bushfires destroyed?
• ABC News: Bushfire royal commission says governments need to coordinate for 'more intense' natural disasters
• The Guardian: Bushfire royal commission: ABC should be embedded in emergency centres during disasters
• ABC News: Satellite imagery reveals, in precise detail, extent of NSW bushfire destruction across Black Summer