In any community, emergency service providers respond to crucial situations round the clock to offer their help and assistance. Often, these situations are matters of life and death, and Fire and Rescue departments use their skills and expertise to assess the situations, make quick decisions and help preserve safety and quality of life among the people, environments and economies that they are tasked to serve.
If you have been wondering about what Fire and Rescue departments (comprised of firefighters, community fire unit members and support staff) do specifically for the community, read through the brief guide provided below and learn about what makes these important teams and individuals such valuable members of society.
Primary fire service responsibilities:
· Responding promptly to calls of fire 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
· Protecting and saving property within their state, territory or city from incidences of structural fire
· Reducing the number of incidents wherein the cause of a fire is reported as undetermined
· Reducing fire engines' response times through the continuous development and improvement of response procedures, new technology and service delivery measures
· Increasing the percentage of fires contained in or confined to the object or room of origin
· Reducing the average financial losses suffered by the community due to fire
· Preventing the occurrence of bushfires through effective hazard reduction strategies and community education campaigns
· Conducting research into factors that affect bushfire behaviour
Aside from responding to fire emergencies, Fire and Rescue stations also provide the following essential services:
· Using knowledge, training and firsthand experience to educate the community about preventing or preparing for emergencies
· Protecting the population from fires, motor vehicle accidents and other dangerous situations
· Protect the community from building collapses and hazardous material emergencies
· Saving lives and reducing the number of injuries caused by such dangerous situations
· Serving as primary responders to road accidents, disasters and major emergency incidents such as train crashes, earthquakes, and complex rescues
· Keeping fire trucks sufficiently equipped with rescue equipment like breathing apparatuses (for people in confined spaces and hazardous atmospheres) and rope rescue capabilities for heights and depths
· Providing counter-terrorism consequence management for their assigned location
· Minimising damage to the environment by addressing and treating biological, chemical and radioactive releases on inland waters and on land
· Reducing damage to property, economy, and community infrastructure
· Continuous planning, training and preparation for grave emergencies that populations hope will never happen in the future
Fire and Rescue personnel are your area's top protection and rescue specialists in highly dangerous situations. Knowing the best and quickest ways to contact them can spell the difference between life and death when you come across an emergency.