~THE BRIGADE BULLETIN~

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1 ~THE BRIGADE BULLETIN~ The occasional newsletter of the Michelago Rural Fire Brigade #51 11 February 2019 Find us on and Nine callouts; Standby; Fires Cowra Creek, Horse Flat Fire Trail, Black Flat; Queensland fires deployment; January training; next training date; RFSA grant; Donations box; Training calendar; Fire danger warnings on Facebook; Christmas party; Can our trucks get into your property?; Fire permits; RFS technology (incl. FiresNearMe); District doings. The little water-bomber that couldn t. See Black Flat tree fire. Photo: Keith Howker Callouts since the last Brigade Bulletin 1. MVA 4 December, Monaro Highway-Willows Road intersection 2. MVA 19 December, Tinderry Road, near intersection with Burra Road 3. MVA 31 December, Monaro Highway-Ryrie Hill Road intersection Some lightning storms passing through the Snowy Monaro area on 3 January started fires that provided challenges in the hot, low-humidity, windy conditions. See fires #4 & 5 below. A helicopter took water from the Murrumbidgee River for water bombing and used the Michelago Oval as a landing site. HT294 (Helitack) and RAFT crews were supporting ground crews at fires in the Peak View and Colinton Brigade areas. Heavy rain on the evening of 5 January helped finish off those two fires. M i c h e l a g o R u r a l F i r e B r i g a d e * B r i g a d e B u l l e t i n # 5 1 * 1 1 / 2 / * P a g e 1 10

2 4. Tree fire 3 January lightning strike at Colinton, on the western side of the river. Colinton Brigade and Michelago s Brent and Rob Buvari attended. 5. Cowra Creek Cluster fire at Peak View 4 January there were actually five separate small fires, all from lightning strikes, near each other and grouped under the same name for ease of reference. Brent, Derek, JT and Scott attended. Burnt about five hectares. Scott s photos below. 6. Burra Road fire 16 January tree fire from lightning strike, dealt with by helicopter drops. 7. Horse Flat Fire Trail, Tinderry 19 January started by a lightning strike. Brent, Derek and Keith attended. Photo by Brent below. Burnt about one hectare. 8. Black Flat fire 30 January tree alight from a lightning strike. Keith, Scott, John, Aldo and Matt attended. Photos by Keith below. 9. Tinderry Trail fire January started by a lightning strike. Michelago was diverted from this to go to the Black Flat fire, so National Parks dealt with it. Standby Total Fire Ban Friday 18 January a crew was at the Shed for the whole day, with the trucks parked ready to go. Cowra Creek fire Photos: Scott Teys Left: four trucks Michelago, Bredbo and Peak View. Right: JT breaks up the ground around a burnt tree. M i c h e l a g o R u r a l F i r e B r i g a d e * B r i g a d e B u l l e t i n # 5 1 * 1 1 / 2 / * P a g e 2 10

3 Left: Derek was cutting open a smouldering stump so water could be put into it. Right: This cleared area shows the extent to which firefighters had to cut the way into the fire for the trucks to have access and be able to turn around. Horse Flat fire Photos: Brent Wallis Brent and Derek trekked into thick bush to the fire site after a Remote Area Response Team (RART) had dealt with the one-hectare fire after being helicoptered in. Brent and Derek used the Brigade s new thermal imaging camera (see RFSA grant item) to check for hot spots that could cause the fire to revive. There were none. M i c h e l a g o R u r a l F i r e B r i g a d e * B r i g a d e B u l l e t i n # 5 1 * 1 1 / 2 / * P a g e 3 10

4 Black Flat fire Photos: Keith Howker Above left: ash at the base of the blackened, Black Flat lightning-struck tree. A walk of 540 metres along the ridge took the Michelago crew to the smouldering tree, where they waited for Adrian and Chester, the specialist tree-fellers from Adaminaby. Then they waited for the water bomber. When it arrived, its water-drop button failed, but it was too late to call the reserve helicopter, as its crew had signed off for the day, so the Michelago crew had to rake-hoe a firebreak (see Matt and Scott, above right) to keep the area safe until the morning. The crew s dream-hopes that helicopter #1 would lift them out were not fulfilled. Queensland fires deployment, or Aldo s Excellent Adventure Photos: Aldo Giucci Following a call from Cooma FC for Monaro volunteers, a team of nine left for Queensland early on 29 November for three days, returning home on the fourth day. Local RFS members were Aldo Giucci (Michelago), Kim Templeton (Colinton) and Matt Mill (Anembo). Thank you, Aldo, for the following information. The Monaro volunteers took a two-hour flight from Canberra to Gladstone, then a one-hour bus drive to Agnes Water and were allocated night shift. Early start, Canberra M i c h e l a g o R u r a l F i r e B r i g a d e * B r i g a d e B u l l e t i n # 5 1 * 1 1 / 2 / * P a g e 4 10

5 The first night, they helped with blacking out and monitoring the fire line at Baffle Creek. The next two nights, they assisted Queensland National Parks teams with a three-kilometre back-burn and blacked out the main fire edge. The Queensland RFS people were very friendly and appreciative. They had never encountered fires this large before. Local children put thank-you drawings in the firefighters lunches a heartwarming gesture. January training Photos: Scott Teys and Leanne Pattison After the bbq (thanks, Abby), Aldo started training by reinforcing the usual procedural and safety protocols. Drawing on his recent experience in the Queensland fires, he emphasised the importance of adequate hydration. Informative posters detailing the signs of dehydration and heat stress and ways to prevent them will be on display in the Shed. Aldo s less formally expressed advice at training had five rules: 1. Drink four bottles of water each hour. 2. Pee every hour. 3. Add hydrolite (this has necessary salt, but makes drinking water even more important). 4. Your pee should be straw-coloured and clear. 5. It s hard to rehydrate after you ve become dehydrated. 5. Respect women s wishes for some peeing privacy women sometimes don t pee when they should because of modesty. 6. If you re not in an active fire situation, you can wear just the cotton T-shirt on top rather than the full yellows. Aldo also demonstrated the new super-gps device, the Astrien. Its capabilities are listed below in the item RFSA grant. There are three Astriens, one for each truck. Dave Ferris revised the acronym IM/SAFER and abbreviation ITASC, which cue firefighters safety checks for themselves and their team mates. M i c h e l a g o R u r a l F i r e B r i g a d e * B r i g a d e B u l l e t i n # 5 1 * 1 1 / 2 / * P a g e 5 10

6 Scott Teys emphasised the importance of disciplined communication with Fire Control, using the chain of command so information is not mixed and the group works as a unit. The control room at CFC houses a complex operation where such information about incidents is received, categorised and prioritised, and from where resources and actions are directed. Right: Aldo demonstrates the capabilities of the Astrien to Gregg, Rob B. and Rob G. Photos: L. Pattison Scott then led a familiarisation tour of local sites for newer members, with particular emphasis on truck positioning for incidents. They went up the village streets, then onto the highway and up Willows Road, then to Clearview, Mt Livingstone and Lawler Roads, noting access points to the river. From there, they went over the highway to Ryrie Hill Road, over Ryrie Hill, down to Robbie Wood s property, then back along Micalago Road, where they noted all the new houses, and thence to the Shed. Photo: Scott Teys Next training date March training has been cancelled due to the long weekend for ACT workers, so the next date is Sunday 14 April at 11 am. RFSA grant The application was submitted 13 August 2018 and Brent was notified of its success in early December. There are now no fixed dates for applications to the Rural Fire Service Association, but there is a threeyear limit. So, as soon as three years had passed since our last one, Snr Deputy Keith had his wish-list ready. Keith sourced the desired items and organised quotes (for all but the laptop, which is from the RFSA catalogue) and Secretary Leanne wrote the application, consulting Keith and Brent for accuracy. There are just two small, fixed spaces, the second larger than the first, on the semi-interactive pdf application form for validating the requests. Validation means stating the benefits for both the Brigade and the community, so reasons for requests must be economically expressed in little space. M i c h e l a g o R u r a l F i r e B r i g a d e * B r i g a d e B u l l e t i n # 5 1 * 1 1 / 2 / * P a g e 6 10

7 The list of items and the validation are shown below. The items, to a value of over $3,500.00, are: 1. 1 x K2 thermal imaging camera 2. 1 x FLIR In-truck Charger to suit K2 Thermal Imaging Camera, 12/24v 3. 1 x EMS e-flare pack at 730 red/blur (4 PACK) 4. 3 x Astrien SITREP Aid and Navigator 5. 1 x Laptop computer 46 GB RAM, 500 GB hard drive Validation 1. Benefit to the Brigade: Thermal imaging camera & charger: efficiency, safety find hot spots in post-fire clean-up. 2. Eflares: safety light witches hats on road for traffic-warning and control. 3. Astrien Sitrep Aid & Navigator: response speed, safety, info to FCC, accurate records, instant grid refs, map name, height, time & direction of travel when moving. 4. Laptop computer: training videos. 2. Benefit to the local community: All 4 items will significantly aid operational efficiency and safety in protecting the local community. In the past 2 years, we've had to borrow a thermal imaging camera from Cooma 3 times after 1 local property fire and 2 bushfires. The Captain has coached members to use it. The eflares' importance was shown in a recent late-night Monaro Hwy serious MVA in ski-traffic time. Last year, an overturned cattle truck's escaped cows at night caused 2 further MVAs. The warning lights of eflares would've made firefighters & local traffic safer. The Astrien navigator: gives instant data, with no need to scroll apps/displays or decipher paper maps in a moving truck, day or night; works with GPS & satellite; has a mount; gives speedy data for FC & other trucks about e.g. property location; means accurate Brigade records. The laptop is for training videos, including use on an e-hub. Donations box Photos: Brien Hallett Treasurer Brien reported on 22 January: I have emptied and counted the donation tin at the shop and the total receipts were $ $200 has been credited to our catering account at the shop and $5.60 returned to the tin. FYI, we last counted takings of $210 on 21 Sept last year, so this demonstrates continued community support for the brigade. Once again, thanks are due to Sally, Tom and the team at the shop for their continued support. M i c h e l a g o R u r a l F i r e B r i g a d e * B r i g a d e B u l l e t i n # 5 1 * 1 1 / 2 / * P a g e 7 10

8 Training calendar The 2019 Monaro training calendar is in the Shed and also on MyRFS. Members interested in doing any courses should contact Tim Ingram, Cooma s Learning & Development Officer, or Captain Brent Wallis. If you would like training to develop any other area of your firefighting expertise, talk with Brent. Fire danger warnings on Facebook Snr Deputy Captain Keith Howker has been vigilant in posting fire danger ratings on the Michelago Community Notice Board. This one for 15 January was typical. Warm and windy weather for the next couple of days. The Fire Danger Rating across the Monaro for Tuesday 15/01 will be VERY HIGH. Any grinding, slashing, welding or any other hot works out in the open that could potentially start a fire we advise you to leave for another day. Be vigilant and make sure you are prepared. If you see any unattended fires, call triple zero 000 immediately How fireproof is your plan? Find out in 5 minutes visit Christmas party Photos: Bronwyn Gattringer A small gathering of active RFS members on 22 December celebrated the end of a busy year and anticipated the rest of a potentially hazardous fire season. Santa Claus again acknowledged the Brigade s importance with his seasonal, lolly-showering visit. M i c h e l a g o R u r a l F i r e B r i g a d e * B r i g a d e B u l l e t i n # 5 1 * 1 1 / 2 / * P a g e 8 10

9 Can our trucks get into your property? Do your trees and bushes need cutting back after the recent growth? Are your gateways wide enough and clear of debris? The Brigade members will do their best to protect everybody s properties from fire, but they have to be able to get near the houses and sheds. Does your emergency evacuation plan allow for this? Fire permits Michelago Brigade Permit Officers: Brent Wallis, Keith Howker, Derek Giucci The statutory Bush Fire Danger Period is from 1 October to 31 March, but it may vary due to local conditions. If you are planning to light a fire in the open during this time, you will need a Fire Permit. Go to for general information and to the brigade permit officers for more specific local advice. RFS technology The following selections and image are from items in the NSW RFS March e-news, Issue 41. The full articles can be viewed on enews@rfs.nsw.gov.au Other topics include: Remembering Black Saturday, 2019 Australia Day Honours, Get Ready weekend registrations, Category One tankers with automatic transmission. Fires Near Me There s an updated version of the Fires Near Me NSW smartphone application. The app can now send push notifications to all users, such as emergency warnings, widespread total fire bans or other important statewide information. The next version will have a new feature watch zones, where you can set up an area to keep an eye on and receive automatic notifications when there s a fire near you. Update the app on Apple or Android, and make sure you have push notifications turned on. New online tool for members Thanks to feedback from members, the NSW RFS is setting up an online and smartphone application to capture and record member availability. This means brigades will be able to replace existing apps which are used to register availability and manage callouts. One of the key benefits is that it will integrate into existing corporate systems. Another big project is the new member website which will replace the staff intranet and MyRFS onto one common platform. There s been extensive feedback from members about what tools, functions and features to include in the site. M i c h e l a g o R u r a l F i r e B r i g a d e * B r i g a d e B u l l e t i n # 5 1 * 1 1 / 2 / * P a g e 9 10

10 District Doings done, doing and to be done 26/1: Australia Day bbq, 9 am, Michelago Railway Station, run by the Golden Oldies 9/2: MRCA AGM, Hall, 2 pm. All welcome see how you can contribute to the community 10/2: Michelago monthly training, 11 am, Shed 26/2: TAG meeting, Cooma 10/3: no monthly training, due to ACT public holiday 16&17/3: BF 14, TBC 20/3 Arduous Pack Test (ARD), Jindabyne 30/3: BF assessment, TBC 6/4: Michelago Music Muster, Michelago Oval. MRFB & MRCA. Entertainment and hours tba 9/4: TAG meeting, Cooma 14/4: Michelago monthly training, 11 am, Shed. Note: the RFS training dates and locations are taken from the Monaro 2019 Training Calendar and can be subject to change, usually depending on instructor availability. If in doubt, please ask one of the training officers or Brent. The MRFB Committee Captain: Brent Wallis ( ) Senior Deputy Captain: Keith Howker ( ) Deputy Captains: Derek Giucci, Scott Teys, John Taylor, Alex Milovanovic Callout Officers: Bronwyn Gattringer, Lauren Wallis Catering Officers: Lauren Wallis, Kylie Kenyon, Alex Milovanovic RFSA Rep: Keith Howker Training Officers: Aldo Giucci, David Ferris, Peter Butler Equipment Officers: Derek Giucci, Keith Howker Engine Keepers: Scott Teys, David Ferris Welfare Officer (female): Bronwyn Gattringer Welfare Officer (male): Keith Howker WHS Officer: Brent Wallis Permit Officers: Brent Wallis, Keith Howker, Derek Giucci President: Abby McPherson Treasurer: Brien Hallett Vice President: Bronwyn Gattringer Secretary: Leanne Pattison Active-member representative: Abby McPherson Executive Committee Officers: Captain, Snr Deputy Captain, Deputy Captain 1, President, Treasurer, Secretary, Vice President, Active-member representative Auditor: tba Editor: Leanne Pattison / LPatt@internode.on.net Disclaimer: views expressed or implied in this bulletin are not necessarily those of the MRFB Committee, wider Michelago Brigade membership or the RFS. Original articles and photographs: Copyright authors and photographers and the Michelago Rural Fire Brigade Find The Brigade Bulletin on and Fire Cooma Monaro Fire Control / (BH only; AH leave a message) Emergency 000 FIRE INFO: or download the app Fires Near Me M i c h e l a g o R u r a l F i r e B r i g a d e * B r i g a d e B u l l e t i n # 5 1 * 1 1 / 2 / * P a g e 10 10