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MDM Publishing Ltd
Abbey Manor Business Centre,
The Abbey, Preston Road,
Yeovil, Somerset
BA20 2EN
England
Tel: +44 (0)1935 426428
Fax: +44 (0)1935 426926
E-mail: mark.seton@apfmag.com
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CFA: One of the world's largest volunteer-based emergency services
Objectives, functions, powers and duties
Under the Country Fire Authority Act 1958 (‘the CFA Act’), CFA is vested with the duty of “taking superintending and enforcing all necessary steps for the prevention and suppression of fires and for the protection of life and property in case of fire … so far as relates to the country area of Victoria”.
This includes wildfires and structure fires, as well as incidents involving hazardous materials, road rescue, and rescue in areas of diverse risk, including high-risk industries such as petrochemical and gas.
Nature and range of services provided
CFA has evolved from its informal beginnings in community based fire brigades to become one of the world’s largest volunteer-based emergency service organisations. It is wholly committed to the prevention, preparedness, response and recovery phases of emergency situations, providing a diverse range of risk reduction, fire suppression and incident management services to minimise the impact of fires and other emergencies on Victorian communities.
CFA’s operations rely on the skills of an integrated force of volunteer and career members who are dispersed throughout Victoria and united through a commitment to create safer communities and protect life and property and the environment.
Volunteers have forged very strong strategic relationships within local communities and provide not only fire suppression expertise but also assistance with fire prevention and mitigation, through educational programs and close working partnerships with local municipalities and industries.
Volunteers in many areas contribute to the social cohesion of their local communities. CFA’s services are based on the internationally adopted ‘comprehensive approach’ to emergency services (prevention, preparedness, response and recovery) used to classify the key functions in managing emergency events, as described by the Productivity Commission’s Annual Report on
Government Services.
To support and complement brigades in the delivery of these services, CFA has offices serving the
Areas and Regions identified in Figure 1.
CFA provides state-wide fire and related emergency coordination including:
• community awareness, education and safety programs
• wildfire suppression
• structural fire suppression
• transport-related fire suppression
• road rescue
• technical rescue, such as high angle, trench and mine operations
• hazardous materials transportation and storage incidents
• forestry industry brigades
• industrial accident response
• other emergency activities including flood assistance
• technical services including building code-related
• inspections and post incident investigations
• fire safety input planning for major community risks
• fire prevention
• land use planning advice at municipal level.
CFA Dimensions
Victoria’s natural environment is among the most bushfire prone in the world and CFA is responsible for an area that is home to more than half the State’s population.
A large part of outer metropolitan Melbourne, as well as provincial towns and rural communities, comes under the protective umbrella of CFA. This protection encompasses some of Victoria’s critical infrastructure, including the power industry of the Latrobe Valley, gas production facilities at
Longford in Gippsland, oil refinery facilities in Geelong, as well as major tourism areas, alpine resorts, extensive plantations, marine environs and growing mining industries.
As our communities extend further into rural interface areas, more Victorians will rely upon the services that CFA provides. In meeting its objectives, functions, powers and duties as expected by Government and the community, CFA:
• serves a population of approximately 2.6 million people and protects more than one million dwellings
• volunteers contribute an estimated $840 million annually to the Victorian economy
• manages a workforce of a size comparable to Australia’s largest organisations
• is one of the largest providers of tertiary-level training in rural Australia
• is recognised for delivering one of Australia’s largest and most successful community awareness education and safety programs
• operates one of Australia’s largest transport fleets, with almost 2,300 trucks
• operates one of the largest public safety communications networks in Australia
• serves some of the State’s most significant commercial centres, industries, critical infrastructure, recreational and tourist attractions
• services Victoria’s growth corridors, which are among the fastest developing regions in Australia
• collaborates with other Emergency Service Organisations in the operation of the State’s integrated emergency coordination centre.
Contact Details:
County Fire Authority (CFA)
PO Box 701
Mt Waverley
Vic 3149
Australia
www.cfa.vic.gov.au
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