A fire and emergency service like CFA must rethink how we best respond to the needs of communities that area changing both in a geographical and demographical sense, writes CFA Deputy Chief Officer Stephanie Rotarangi, who is currently Acting Deputy Emergency Management Commissioner at Emergency Management Victoria, in this month’s issue of International Firefighter Magazine.
CFA Deputy Chief Officer Stephanie Rotarangi writes in this month’s International Firefighter Magazine.
Victoria’s capital Melbourne is growing at a rate of around 2 per cent per year – fuelled by its growth corridors to the west, north and east where population growth is as high as 5 per cent.
Close to half of all Victorians were either born overseas or to a parent born overseas. Victorians come from more than 200 countries and while the majority of people speak only English at home, close to a third speak at least one of 250 other languages.
While regional Victoria’s population is growing at a much slower rate – and indeed decreasing in some parts – larger regional centres within commuting distance of Melbourne also record healthy growth.
A fire and emergency service like CFA must rethink how we best respond to the needs of new and emerging communities on the urban fringe, bordering on bush and grassland, which are also home to many migrants from countries unfamiliar with Australia’s bushfire risk.
Increasingly built-up estates in areas that were once proudly protected by volunteer-only fire brigades mean a growing demand for increased responses. It has led to an integration of career and volunteer firefighters who operate from our stations.
So, how does an organisation such as CFA ensure it has the capability to meet the challenges that these changes pose to its mission of saving lives and property?
Capability – while it sounds like management-speak – is actually about enhancing and making what we do, easier, safer, and more effective.
It’s not necessarily just about the response equipment we have, and at CFA we’re certainly looking beyond that.
It is also about the way we organise ourselves, and the decisions we make about our areas of focus.
