Agencies
The Emergency Services Organisations which comprise the fire and emergency services sector are the South Australian Fire and Emergency Services Commission, SA Country Fire Service, SA Metropolitan Fire Service and SA State Emergency Service.
The sector operates under the guidance of the SAFECOM Board, whose members include the Chief Officers of the CFS, MFS and SES and the Chief Executive, SAFECOM. The activities of the sector are funded by the Emergency Services Levy and the agencies report to the Minister for Emergency Services.
The SA Country Fire Service (CFS) is a volunteer based, fire and emergency service dedicated to protecting life, property and environmental assets in regional and semi metropolitan South Australia.
With over 13,000 volunteers and 130 staff, CFS provides a range of fire and emergency services to more than 434 communities across South Australia.
What the CFS Does
The CFS attends around 7 000 incidents each year. These incidents include:
- Bushfires
- Structure and Motor Vehicle Fires
- Road Crash Rescue
- Hazardous Material Spills
- Support the SA Metropolitan Fire Service and State Emergency Service and the CFS also works closely with local government to perform the important role of fuel removal, bushfire prevention and community bushfire and fire safety education,
CFS Community Safety Programs
CFS devotes a significant proportion of its effort to improving community safety through programs which include the specific areas of:
- Community Education
- Bushfire Management Planning
- Commercial and Industrial Building Fire Safety
- Development Control in Bushfire Prone Areas
- processes for regulation of activities during the Fire Danger Season.
CFS Prevention Services manages a number of other programs such as the development of community safety policy and procedures, the training and development of local government Fire Prevention Officers, and the implementation of State and National initiatives for community safety associated with major bushfire inquiries.
To find out more, visit their website at www.cfs.sa.gov.au
The SA Metropolitan Fire Service (MFS) is committed to protecting life, property and the environment from the effects of fire and other dangers.
MFS firefighters don't just attend fires but are also called to road crash rescues, gas leaks, chemical spills, rescues, structural collapses, animal rescues and more. MFS is a fully professional organisation, recognised for excellence of service provision.
The MFS currently has more than 1000 personnel across 36 stations (20 metropolitan and 16 regional) in South Australia. To find out more, visit their website at http://www.mfs.sa.gov.au .
The South Australian State Emergency Service (SES) is a national community-based volunteer organisation established to provide an emergency response service across the state. SASES volunteer units are particularly active in responding to floods, storms, road accidents, searches and rescues.
The SES comprises approximately 1700 volunteers spread across 68 units and responds to around 6000 – 7000 tasks and requests for assistance each year. These tasks primarily involve:
- Responding to floods, storms, road accidents and emergencies requiring both general rescue and technical rescue services (vertical rescue, confined space rescue, swift water rescue, road crash rescue).
- Supporting land, sea and air searches for missing persons and vessels.
- Providing blue water marine and brown water riverine rescue services.
The SES also provides targeted community education programs to improve community resilience to flooding, storms and extreme heat. It is also involved in supporting Volunteer Marine Rescue associations and coordinating their integration with state marine search and rescue arrangements.
Other functions of the SES involve providing operational support to SAPOL for crime scene and evidence searches as well as providing logistics support, staging area management services and base camp support to other operational agencies.
To find out more, visit their at http://www.ses.sa.gov.au.
