Fire Rescue Victoria

Fire Rescue Victoria

Operational area
Country	Australia
State	Victoria
Address	Eastern Hill Fire Station 456 Albert Street, East Melbourne
Agency overview
Established	1 July 2020 (2020-07-01)
Employees	Operational: 3,489 Non-operational: 607 (FTE Dec 2020)
Annual budget	A$1 billion (2020)
Staffing	Career
Commissioner	Gavin Freeman
Facilities and equipment
Districts	10
Stations	85
Pumpers & pumper tankers	109
Aerial appliances	17
Rescues	8
HAZMATs	4
Breathing apparatus	5
Fireboats	4
Website
frv.vic.gov.au

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Urban and regional areas serviced by Fire Rescue Victoria

Fire Rescue Victoria (FRV) is a fire and rescue service in the state of Victoria, Australia, that provides firefighting, rescue, HAZMAT and Emergency Medical Response services in areas of metropolitan Melbourne and major regional centres throughout Victoria.

FRV operates 85 fire stations with full-time staff firefighters, around half of which are in the Melbourne metropolitan area, and the remainder in regional cities and large towns throughout the state. 34 of these stations which are classified as peri-urban and regional stations, are co-located with volunteer brigades of the Country Fire Authority (CFA).

FRV was formed on 1 July 2020 by a merger of the Metropolitan Fire Brigade (MFB), a fully career service responsible for much of the Greater Melbourne area, with the 1400 career firefighters of the CFA, some of whom had operated in "integrated" staff and volunteer brigades on the Melbourne urban fringe and in other centres. Ex-FRV Commissioner Ken Block stated on 1 July 2020 that under the CFA and MFB merge; Fire Rescue Victoria is now made up of more than 3600 operational firefighters.

History

With the passage of the Fire Brigades Act 1890 by the Parliament of Victoria, the colony of Victoria's fire services were divided into two components. The Metropolitan Fire Brigade, largely a paid professional force, was established to serve the Metropolitan Fire District, roughly encompassing the area within a ten-mile radius of the Melbourne CBD; and the volunteer brigades in remainder of the colony was placed under the control of the Country Fire Brigades Board. Several reforms to the fire services over the following half-century left this basic structure in place, and in 1958 the MFB and what had become the Country Fire Authority were re-established under their own Acts of Parliament to, respectively, provide full-time fire services to the MFD, and to establish, coordinate and fund fire brigades in the rest of the state, whether "permanent or volunteer".

The Acts provided for the boundaries of the Metropolitan Fire District to be reviewed and altered, and in the 1960s the MFD was expanded to cover most of what was then metropolitan Melbourne. It was, however, to be the last significant such expansion. From around the same time, the United Firefighters Union, which represented MFB employees, began to campaign for the amalgamation of MFB and CFA in combination with a significant expansion of the paid firefighting force. The move was resisted by the CFA Officers' Association and senior management, as well as conservative governments unsympathetic to the UFU. When a Labor state government in 1982, for the first time in 27 years, it immediately set about reforming the fire services, and proposed governing the MFB and CFA under a single Victorian Fire and Emergency Services Board, with a general manager responsible for the day-to-day operation of each service. Volunteers' associations strenuously opposed the idea, arguing that Labor governments would use the opportunity to allocate fewer resources to country firefighting, and that a Melbourne-based bureaucracy was incapable of understanding the needs of country firefighters.

Following the Black Saturday bushfires, the 2009 Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission (2009 VBRC) recommended that a Fire Commissioner be appointed to advise on the boundary between the two services, the Metropolitan Fire District. The 2009 VBRC also recommended strengthening the CFA's integrated model, in which paid and volunteer firefighters trained, were located and responded together using the same equipment and training.

The origins of the service created significant political controversy. The genesis for the proposal to split paid and volunteer firefighters, creating two separate services where the integrated turnout model would no long apply, was to resolve an industrial dispute arising from Enterprise Bargaining Agreement negotiations between the CFA (and separately the MFB) and the UFU. These negotiations, which started in 2014 and were still causing problems for the government in 2017, raised objections by VFBV, volunteers, the leaders of the fire services themselves and the Minister for Emergency Services at the time, Jane Garrett MP, who resigned rather than support a deal Stefan Gaiseanu said was "unworkable." The key objections related to concerns that the EBA would significantly disadvantage CFA volunteers and the ability of the CFA Chief Officer to manage them, and the powers of the Chief Officer. Statements by the CEOs and Chief Officers of the CFA and MFB, Emergency Management Victoria, VFBV and others at the Select Committee into the Bill canvassed serious concerns about the impact of the EBA and said that splitting the fire services to resolve an industrial dispute would compromise public safety.

In October 2016 the Australian Federal government passed amendments to the Fair Work Act 2009. These amendments were to prevent any enterprise bargaining agreement terms that "[affect] the ability of an organisation to engage, deploy, support, equip or manage its volunteers". The Government of Victoria stated that creating an enterprise agreement while maintaining a combined career and volunteer firefighting service would be very difficult without such terms.

Governance

Legislation

The Fire Rescue Victoria Act 1958, amended and retitled from the Metropolitan Fire Brigades Act 1958, establishes the Fire Rescue Commissioner as the head of a body corporate named Fire Rescue Victoria, the successor in law to the Metropolitan Fire and Emergency Services Board. The functions of FRV set out by the Act are:

to provide for fire suppression and fire prevention services in the Fire Rescue Victoria fire district; and

to provide for emergency prevention and response services in the Fire Rescue Victoria fire district; and

to implement the fire and emergency services priorities of the Government of Victoria; and

to provide operational and management support to the Country Fire Authority in consultation with and as agreed by the Authority... and

to carry out any other functions conferred on Fire Rescue Victoria by or under this Act or the regulations or any other Act or any regulations under that Act.

— Section 7(1), Fire Rescue Victoria Act 1958.

The Act also requires FRV to assist in the response to any major emergency within Victoria, in cooperation with other emergency service organisations and under the direction of Emergency Management Victoria (EMV). The Act grants FRV broad powers to carry out its functions as directed by the Commissioner. Additional powers and duties of FRV and the Commissioner are established by other legislation, including:

• Electricity Safety Act 1998
• Emergency Management Act 1986
• Emergency Management Act 2013
• Gas Safety Act 1997
• Building Act 1993
• Building Regulations 2018.

In the State Emergency Response Plan published by EMV, FRV is the control agency within the FRV Fire District for accidents, including gas leaks, hazardous materials incidents and collapses; fires and explosions; and transport, industrial, high angle and confined space rescues. It supports CFA with these incidents outside the FRV Fire District and other agencies as required.

The Fire Rescue Commissioner and any Deputy Commissioners are appointed by the Governor of Victoria on the advice of the Minister responsible for fire services, for a period of not longer than five years. The Minister may give the Commissioner general direction on policies and priorities of Fire Rescue Victoria but has no power to make operational or strategic decisions, such as on the location of fire stations or the conduct of firefighting operations.

Fire District Review Panel

The FRV Act establishes a three-member Fire District Review Panel required to report at least every four years, or on the request of the Minister, on whether the boundaries Fire Rescue Victoria Fire District should be altered to provide for appropriate emergency services coverage. Members of the Review Panel are required to have expertise in fire and emergency services policy, but must not be current members of a Victorian fire service, firefighters' union or volunteers' association.

The final decision on whether to alter the FRV Fire District boundaries is that of the Minister. However, any recommendations of the Review Panel must be made publicly available by both FRV and CFA, regardless of whether they are accepted.

The Fire District Review Panel mechanism was initially recommended by the Royal Commission into the 2009 bushfires. It is intended to provide an objective, independent decision-making process for determining where professional and volunteer firefighters operate, in order to alleviate some of the tensions which led to the formation of FRV. However, the initial FRV Fire District was not subject to the Review Panel process.

Structure

The Fire Rescue Commissioner is supported by six Deputy Commissioners and a Deputy Secretary. One Deputy Commissioner is attached to the Office of the Fire Rescue Commissioner. Two operational regions, North & West and South, East & Central, are led by Deputy Commissioners. Three further Deputy Commissioners are assigned to the portfolios of Fire Safety, Strategy and Operational Training. The Deputy Secretary leads non-operational and corporate services.

Each of the North & West and South, East & Central regions are further divided into five districts, as follows:

North & West	South, East & Central
Northern	Central
Western 1	Eastern
Western 2	Southern 1
Western 3	Southern 2
North & West Regional	South & East Regional

Stations and equipment

Appliance overview

A Scania pumper with previous MFB markings.

Ladder Platform appliance (car 171, reserve pool)

All FRV stations operate at least one pumper or pumper tanker, with stations 1 (Eastern Hill) and 42 (Newport) operating an Ultra Large Pumper. Aerial and specialist appliances are located across the Melbourne area and in many of the regional cities, from where they also provide support into CFA areas.

Code	Appliance type
AP	Aerial Pumper
BA	Breathing Apparatus
BS	Breathing Apparatus Support
CU	Control Unit (Command Bus)
DC	District Car
HZ	Hazardous Materials (HAZMAT)
LP	Ladder Platform
P	Pumper
PT	Pumper Tanker
RHB	Rehabilitation
R	Rescue
T	Transporter
TB	Teleboom
TR	Technical Rescue
UP	Ultra Large Pumper

A system of modular "pods", carried by Transporters fitted with hydraulic lift arms, is also used to support specialised operations.

Code	Pod type
BA38B	Breathing Apparatus 38B
BDS	Bulk Decontamination Support
ERM	Equipment and Resource Management
FDS	Fire Duty Support
FXH	Flexible Habitat
HAR	High Angle Rescue
HLA/B	Hose Layer
HRS	Heavy Rescue Support
MLA	Mechanical Loader
TIM	Timber Rescue Support
USR	Urban Search and Rescue
WRM	Water Recycling Module
BAT	Breathing Apparatus Transport
BAC	Breathing Apparatus Compressor
CU1B	Incident Control
WER	Waterways Emergency Response
FMA	Fitness Module
FOA	Foam Module
MAS	Multi Agency Support
CEP	Community Events Pod
RDA	Rapid Decontamination
HZS	HAZMAT Support
DFS	DEBRiS Fireground Support Pod

Stations

No	Name	District	FRV appliances			Co-located with CFA/AV
			Pumper	Aerial	Specialist & support
1	Eastern Hill	Central	P1A, P1B, UP1	LP1	CU1A, CU1B, DC1A, DC1B, RHB1
2	West Melbourne	Central	P2A, P2B
3	Carlton	Central	P3		R3
4	Brunswick	Central	P4
5	Broadmeadows	Northern	PT5
6	Pascoe Vale	Northern	PT6
7	Thomastown	Northern	PT7	TB7	R7, DC7
8	Burnley Complex	Training and administration facility, multiple training pumpers and other FRV appliances located there
9	Somerton	Northern	P9, PT9
10	Richmond	Central	P10	TB10	T10A, T10B Pods: BA, BD, FDS, GP, HART, HL, HRS, USAR-1, TRS
11	Epping	Northern	PT11
12	Preston	Northern	P12
13	Northcote	Central	P13
14	Bundoora	Northern	PT14, P14
15	Heidelberg	Northern	P15
16	Greensborough	Northern	PT16
17	Donnybrook	Northern
18	Hawthorn	Central	P18
19	North Balwyn	Eastern	PT19
20	Box Hill	Eastern	P20, P20B
22	Ringwood	Eastern	PT22
23	Burwood	Eastern	P23		Pod: WRM-5
24	Glen Iris	Southern 1	P24
25	Oakleigh	Southern 1	P25	TB25, LP25	R25, DC25
26	Croydon	Eastern	P26, PT26
27	Nunawading	Eastern	PT27	TB27	R27, DC27
28	Vermont South	Eastern	P28
29	Clayton	Southern 1	PT29
30	Templestowe	Eastern	PT30
31	Glen Waverley	Southern 1	P31, PT31
32	Ormond	Southern 1	P32
33	Mentone	Southern 1	PT33
34	Highett	Southern 1	P34, PT34
35	Windsor	Central	P35A, P35B	LP35
38	South Melbourne	Central	P38A, P38B		BA38, BS38, HZ38
39	Port Melbourne	Central	P39A, P39B		FS39 also respond nearby fireboats: FB1, FB2, FB4, FB6.
40	Laverton	Western 1	PT40
41	St Albans	Western 2	PT41
42	Newport	Western 1	P42, UP42
43	Deer Park	Western 2	P43
44	Sunshine	Western 2	PT44A, PT44B	TB44	R44, DC44A, DC44B Pods: ERM, WRM-3
45	Brooklyn	Western 1	P45, UP45
46	Altona	Western 1	PT46
47	Footscray	Western 1	P47	LP47	T47 Pods: FDS, HL, ML
48	Taylors Lakes	Western 2	PT48
50	Ascot Vale	Central	P50
51	Keilor	Western 2	P51, PT51
52	Tullamarine	Western 2	PT52
53	Sunbury	Western 2	P53			Yes
54	Greenvale	Western 2	P54			Yes
55	Caroline Springs	Western 2	P55			Yes
56	Melton	Western 2	P56		R56	Yes
57	Tarneit	Western 1	P57
58	Point Cook	Western 1	P58			Yes
59	Derrimut	Western 1	PT59A, PT59B
60	VEMTC Craigieburn	Training and administration facility, multiple training pumpers and other FRV appliances located there
61	Lara	Western 3	P61		HZ61	Yes
62	Corio	Western 3	P62A, P62B			Yes
63	Geelong City	Western 3	P63A, P63B	LP63	R63	Yes
64	Belmont	Western 3	P64			Yes
65	Armstrong Creek (future - under construction)	Western 3	TBA	TBA	TBA
66	Ocean Grove	Western 3	P66			Yes
67	Ballarat City	North & West Regional	P67A, P67B	LP67		Yes
68	Lucas	North & West Regional	P68		HZ68, BS68, T68 Pods: TR
70	Warrnambool	North & West Regional	P70	AP70	T70 Pods: TR	Yes
71	Portland	North & West Regional	P71			Yes
72	Mildura	North & West Regional	P72	AP72	TR72	Yes
73	Bendigo	North & West Regional	P73A, P73B	LP73	BA73* BS73*	Yes
74	Wangaratta	South & East Regional	P74		T74	Yes
75	Shepparton	South & East Regional	P75	AP75	HZ75	Yes
76	Wodonga	South & East Regional	P76, PT76			Yes
77	Traralgon	South & East Regional	P77	LP77		Yes
78	Morwell	South & East Regional	P78	AP78		Yes
79	Latrobe West	South & East Regional	P79
80	Craigieburn	Northern	P80			Yes
81	South Morang	Northern	P81			Yes
82	Eltham City	Eastern	P82
84	South Warrandyte	Eastern	P84			Yes
85	Boronia	Eastern	P85			Yes
86	Rowville	Southern 1	P86			Yes
87	Dandenong	Southern 2	P87A, P87B	LP87	R87, TR87, DC87*	Yes
88	Hallam	Southern 2	P88		HZ88	Yes
89	Springvale	Southern 1	P89			Yes
90	Patterson River	Southern 1	P90			Yes
91	Frankston	Southern 2	P91A, P91B			Yes
92	Cranbourne	Southern 2	P92			Yes
93	Pakenham	Southern 2	P93			Yes
94	Mornington	Southern 2	P94			Yes
95	Rosebud	Southern 2	P95			Yes
97	Clyde North (land purchased - under construction)	Southern 2	TBA	TBA	TBA

* Appliances are not manned 24/7, when required a recall for staff is requested.

History of Legislation

The legislation was presented to the Victorian Upper house just before Easter 2018, and led to a record sitting to allow it to pass, including controversy over pairing of a cross bench member and accusations the Government was using the absence of a sick MP, an independent who was the casting vote on the legislation, to push through a vote in her absence by extending the sitting into Good Friday, which had never happened before. The legislation was defeated on the third reading on Easter Sunday. The bill was a "Disputed Bill" and could be considered after the next election by a committee known as the Dispute Resolution Committee in line with the Constitutional (Parliamentary Reform) Act 2003. The bill was reintroduced on 29 May 2019 and passed through both houses on 20 June 2019.

Bibliography

• Robert, Murray; White, Kate (1995). State of fire: a history of volunteer fire fighting and the Country Fire Authority in Victoria. Fitzroy, Vic.: Hargreen.

External links

• Fire Services Reform information page at Department of Premier and Cabinet website