New South Wales Rural Fire Service
 |
|
| Prepare. Act. Survive | |
| Agency overview | |
|---|---|
| Established | 1896 |
| Staffing | 1432 |
| Commissioner | Shane Fitzsimmons |
| Facilities and equipment | |
| Stations | 2,029 |
| Engines | 3,783 Tankers, 65 Pumpers and 59 Bulk Water Carriers |
| Fireboats | 30 |
| Website | |
| http://www.rfs.nsw.gov.au | |
The New South Wales Rural Fire Service (NSW RFS) is an organisation that is a volunteer-based firefighting agency and statutory body of the Government of New South Wales. The NSW RFS is responsible for the general administration of rural fire management affairs including administration of the Rural Fire Fighting Fund, coordination with local government of the State's Rural Fire Brigades, design and provision of firefighting equipment to rural fire brigades through local government, the training of volunteer Rural Fire Brigade members, community education in relation to fire affairs, emergency planning and generally taking measures for the prevention of loss and life and property from fires.
The agency is led by its Commissioner, presently Shane Fitzsimmons, who reports to the Minister for Emergency Services, currently the Hon. Troy Grant MP.
The NSW Rural Fire Service's jurisdiction covers more than 90% of the geographical area of the state of New South Wales in Australia. The NSW RFS is the world's largest volunteer fire service, with 73,162 volunteer members forming 2,029 volunteer brigades across the state, although this figure includes many inactive volunteer firefighters and all support volunteers. The service also employs 855 paid staff who fulfill the senior operational management and administrative roles of the service (current November 2016).
More than 100 years ago, the residents of the small town of Berrigan in south west New South Wales, banded together as firefighters to protect their community against the ever-present threat of bush fires. They were Australia's first official bush fire brigade.
Prior to 1997, bushfire fighting services in New South Wales were essentially a patchwork of more than 200 separate fire fighting agencies working under a loose umbrella with no single chain of command. The core of the service, then as now, was the volunteer brigades that were organised along council district lines under the command of a locally appointed Fire Control Officer. Fire fighting efforts were funded by the Bush Fire Fighting Fund, established in 1949 and financed by insurance companies, local council and the State Government. A variety of State-run committees and councils oversaw bush fire operations with members drawn from various Government fire fighting agencies and council and volunteer representatives. These groups developed legislation and techniques but in the main responsibility for bushfire management was vested in individual local councils in dedicated bush fire areas as determined under the 1909 Fire Brigades Act. This Act proclaimed the areas serviced by the Board of Fire Commissioners (now Fire and Rescue NSW) and covered the urban areas of Sydney and Newcastle together with most regional and country towns of any significance.
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