Even with no major cyclones or floor insurance claims due to natural catastrophe and severe weather events during the summer months in Australia have now caused over AUD $550 million (USD $415m) of insurance and perhaps reinsurance industry losses, according…
Multi-agency (Integrated) CBR capability
The importance of multi-agency collaboration during major events cannot be under estimated in this world of terrorism and hazardous substances emergency agencies need to train to the same standards and continually exercise their skills. It is not just the formal…
2016 Australian & New Zealand Disaster & Emergency Management and Search & Rescue Conference
The Disaster & Emergency Management and Search & Rescue community will unite in 2016 for education, networking and inspiration at the Australian & New Zealand Disaster and Emergency Management (DMC) and Australian & New Zealand Search & Rescue (SAR) Conferences at…
Emergency Management Conference – 12th-13th July, Melbourne, Australia. All Emergencies. All Communities.
EMC has been one of the major annual emergency services conferences in Australia for the last 16 years. Every year, it brings together emergency management professionals from Emergency Services Organisations, local, state and federal governments, community groups and industry. Last…
Bluemont Pty Ltd – Demonstrate the Hytrans HS150 system throughout Australia
In 2005, Bluemont brought to Australia the Hytrans HS150 system demonstration truck and completed live demonstrations for fire services throughout Queensland, NSW, ACT & Victoria. This is the same unit on a similar skid platform that has been common for…
Huge quake strikes off Indonesia but tsunami warnings cancelled
By Kanupriya Kapoor and Eveline Danubrata JAKARTA (Reuters) – A massive quake struck on Wednesday off the Indonesian island of Sumatra, a region devastated by the 2004 Indian Ocean quake and tsunami, but initial fears of another region-wide disaster faded…
Announcement from Institution of Fire Engineers Australia Branch
The Institution of Fire Engineers is pleased to announce its ‘2016 IFE Australia Conference’ to be held at the Sheraton Grand Mirage Resort, Gold Coast. The program will commence on the 26th October 2016 with welcome cocktails. Technical papers will…
Two Birds might be Purposely Starting Wildfires in Australia
An article in Newsweek at first sounds like an April fool’s joke, but further research seems to indicate there may be some truth in the theory. Brown falcons and black kites are apparently picking up burning sticks and dropping them…
Heavy rain doesn’t stop a large warehouse fire in Sydney.
Despite one of the heaviest downpours in Sydney for many years a large warehouse fire in the western suburbs added to what was a very busy time for the fire service. The two-storey warehouse, with a foot print of approx.…
DC-10 tactical use by NSW Rural Fire Service
Last December firefighters from New South Wales began using their DC-10 Large Airtanker in a fashion that, while not necessarily an innovation, has not been commonly practiced elsewhere. Historically airtankers began with the capacity to carry enough retardant to hit…
Insurance reaches $60m in deadly Western Australia fires
The cost of deadly Western Australian bushfires has climbed to $60 million and the figure is expected to rise, according to insurers. The Insurance Council of Australia says several hundred calls have been made to insurers following bushfires that killed…
Victorian bushfires: Devastate Wye River and Separation Creek
On Christmas day about 116 houses were destroyed in fires that engulf the small holiday hamlets of Wye River and Separation Creek in Southern Australasia. The threat of the 2700-hectare fire has eased given the cooler conditions and light rain,…
More than 100 homes lost in Australia’s Christmas Day bushfires
By Christopher McCall MELBOURNE (Reuters) – More than 100 homes burned down in a leading Australian tourist area in bushfires on Christmas Day and the situation remained dangerous on Saturday, as officials predicted more blazes to come later in the…
Fire Fighters secure asbestos after storm destroys 25 homes last Wednesday.
A storm that hit Kurnell, a suburb near Sydney airport, has turned up another hazard for the fire service to deal with, before a clean-up can start. The Bureau of Meteorology said winds measuring up to 213 kilometres per hour…
Clean-up underway in Kurnell after ‘unprecedented’ storm delivers 213kph winds
The Australian Bureau of Meteorology said the destructive winds hit around 10:30am (AEDT) on 16th December, and measured up to 213 kilometres per hour, while some areas were pelted with golf ball-sized hail stones. Authorities say it is very fortunate no-one…
Airservices calls in the ‘Santa Commanders’ to prepare for Santa’s arrival
Australia’s provider of air traffic control services, Airservices Australia, is gearing up for Santa’s visit to Australia on Christmas Eve and this year a team of Aussie kids will get an inside look at what it takes to prepare for…
Firefighter recruits ready for their next chapter at airports
Eighteen new aviation rescue firefighters will start work next week at airports around the country providing a vital first response to airport emergencies and ensuring the safety of airport users. Graduating today from Airservices Learning Academy in Melbourne, Australia the…
New technology to stop bushfires starting from power lines
High-voltage power lines have been the source of many deadly bushfires, as a result of sparking, this could be reduced by up to 90 per cent by world-first technology to be installed on the electricity distribution network in the state…
Xtralis VESDA-E Protects the Largest Shopping Complex in Southern Hemisphere
The Chadstone shopping complex is the largest shopping centre in the southern hemisphere, located in Melbourne, Australia. With over 20 million visitors annually, the high-end outlet is a retail home for world-class brands like Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Burberry, and Tiffany & Co.…
Bulk water transport for two of Australia’s largest fire services
Accessing enough of the wet stuff to be able to put out the red stuff can be a problem for fire brigades. These days less so for Fire & Rescue NSW. Their new Hytrans Bulk Water Transport Systems gives easy…
Central Station, Sydney fire chaos
On Saturday night the 26th Sept Sydney’s main rail station was thrown into chaos when a fire broke out in the Hungry Jack’s fast food restaurant at 06.15pm. Twenty fire appliances and 100 firefighters from city fire station quickly brought…
Delivering on our 2020 vision – simplifying accreditation
FPA Australia has a simple goal for the fire protection industry: that all individuals will be ‘fit-for-action’ (which means trained, competent and accredited) by2020. We are committed to making this goal a reality and have listened to feedback from our…