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New South Wales Fire Brigade Employees’ Union (FBEU)
1 – 7 Belmore Street Surry Hills NSW 2010
Telephone 02 9218 3444 Facsimile 02 9218 3488 E-mail office@fbeu.net Website www.fbeu.net
MEDIA ADVISORY
Tuesday 28 July 2009
Government must answer questions on RFS “phantom army”
The Fire Brigade Employees Union (FBEU) has expressed concerns at revelations that the Rural Fire Service (RFS) is operating at half the numerical strength the NSW Government claims it has.
FBEU NSW State Secretary Jim Casey said today that information obtained under FOI had revealed that the State Government claim that the RFS has 71,000 volunteers it can draw on was untrue, with the true strength only 35,000 and that critically important areas on the bush/suburban interface were well under-strength.
“The Baulkham Hills district is 49 volunteers short of its advertised strength, the Blue Mountains is 50 short and the Hawkesbury is 150 volunteers short of its advertised strength.”
“This is not an exercise in bashing volunteers, who work well on the ground with our members. This is about the Government promoting a strength that is not real – presenting the appearance we are well protected from the scourge of bushfire, whilst the reality is very different.”
“This puts us all at risk.”
"While volunteerism is an important part of bush firefighting, it is unreasonable to expect volunteers to provide 24/7 fire protection. These men and women have jobs and families that have to come first, which means that we cannot expect them to be able to respond as firefighters when they are needed. The proof is in the figures - volunteers are voting with their feet,” Mr. Casey said.
"The Government needs to address the fact that our volunteer fire fighters in huge parts of the state comprise nothing more than a phantom army.”
“The Government has poured money into the RFS, who have used it to build a Taj Mahal headquarters. These figures show that the Government needs to instead prioritise resources towards professional firefighters rather than resourcing a phantom volunteer fire fighting force.”
Media enquiries please call FBEU NSW State Secretary Jim Casey on 0407 467 397
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