Country Fire Authority
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 Official Seal and Emblem of the Country Fire Authority |
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| Established: | 1945 |
|---|---|
| Regions: | 20 |
| Specialities: | Combatant Authority for Fire, Rescue and Hazmat |
| Volunteers: | ~60,000 |
| Paid Staff: | 1,200 |
| Brigades: | 1213 |
| Location: | Victoria, Australia |
| Website | Official CFA Website |
Country Fire Authority, or CFA, is the name of the fire service that provides firefighting and other emergency services to all of the country areas and regional townships within the state of Victoria, Australia, as well as large portions of the outer suburban areas and growth corridors of Melbourne not covered by the Metropolitan Fire Brigade.
CFA, as it is commonly known, draws the majority of its officers and members from the local community on a volunteer basis.
The current Chairman of CFA is Kerry Murphy. Its Chief Executive Officer is Neil Bibby, and its operational Chief Officer of CFA is Russell Rees.
The CFA falls under the portfolio of the Minister for Police and Emergency Services, Bob Cameron.
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[edit] History
CFA operates under the Country Fire Authority Act of 1958, its amendments and Regulations. This legislation was brought about by significant bushfires during the period 1939-1944 which killed 114 people and destroyed nearly 1400 homes while also damaging large areas of the state and destroying significant amounts of stock. Subsequent investigations showed the lack of a cohesive firefighting agency outside the central metropolitan area and CFA was born on 2nd April 1945. Many of its brigades however were established in the 1800s or early in the 20th century[1].
CFA is one of the world's largest volunteer based firefighting organisations. It services more than 150,000 square kilometres and 2 million people, and currently has approximately 58,000 active volunteers with almost 500 career firefighters and 700 career support staff[2].
[edit] Funding
Funding is largely provided by Fire Service Levies charged by insurance companies, and in part by appropriations from the Victorian Government. Individual brigades receive further funds from local councils, from their own fundraising activities and from donations from the community.
[edit] CFA resources
There are more than 1200 brigades (1023 rural and 252 urban), with more than 2300 vehicles across 20 regions in nine areas.[citation needed]
The vehicles are made up of nearly 1300 Tankers, 240 Pumpers, seven Aerial Appliances, thirty Rescue Units and various other special purpose and Command and Support vehicles. This fleet is supplemented by more than 730 brigade owned vehicles. Brigade owned vehicles are bought and paid for by the individual brigades and communities (sometimes with the assistance of Victorian Government grants) to allow extension of brigade firefighting capability.
[edit] Major incidents
CFA has been involved in a number of major fires over the years where lives have been lost, including:
- Ash Wednesday fires in 1983
- Linton bushfire in 1998
- The Victorian Alps fires in 2003 and 2007.
CFA has also been involved in combatting interstate fires such as the Sydney fires in 2002 and the 2003 Canberra bushfires.
[edit] Activities
CFA does not only extinguish bushfires. Brigades are involved in community education, fire prevention, house and commercial fires, road accidents and other miscellaneous emergencies such as fallen trees.
[edit] Volunteer Associations
Groups associated with CFA are the Victorian Urban Fire Brigades' Association (VUFBA), and the Victorian Rural Fire Brigades' Association (VRFBA). The umbrella body is Volunteer Fire Brigades Victoria (VFBV). The role of these organisations is to represent the interests of volunteers of urban and rural fire brigades, and deal with the CFA Board, state and federal governments as well as the United Firefighters Union of Australia (UFU).
The VUFBA and VRFBA are also responsible for running the Urban and Rural (respectively) State Championships held each year. These competitions involve brigades from around the state competing in a range of events which are based on current and past fire fighting practices.
[edit] See also
- Metropolitan Fire Brigade
- New South Wales Rural Fire Service
- South Australian Country Fire Service
- New South Wales Fire Brigades
- Australasian Fire Authorities Council
- Narre Warren Fire Brigade
[edit] References
- ^ History - Country Fire Authority website (accessed 10 May 2007)
- ^ About CFA - Country Fire Authority website (accessed 10 May 2007)
