Incident Response
To comply with the Fire and Rescue Service Act, 1990, it is our responsibility to respond to emergency incidents and to mobilise sufficient resources to manage an incident. QFRS Rural Operations accepts that is has a responsibility towards volunteers to establish policies, practices and procedures for brigade activities that are in the best interests of the workplace health and safety of brigade members and others whose assistance is requested during operations.
The efficient, effective and safe management of brigade operations is the prime responsibility of First Officers. It is not their responsibility alone; other officers, and all brigade members, must also accept responsibility.
Rural Fire Service volunteers need not only to be fully aware of the latest operational procedures, but must also utilise them to avoid an increased risk of:
- injury or death to firefighters and/or members of the community
- damage to property
- litigation and/or insurance liability.
Firefighters are responsible for their own actions and the actions of those whose assistance they have sought and should:
- accept only those tasks that they know they are capable of performing;
- observe all statutory obligations related to the carrying out of the tasks;
- accept only those tasks that are within the recognised charter of the QFRS;
- wear appropriate protective equipment during brigade activities, including that supplied by QFRS Rural Operations; and
- report all activity-related accidents and illness.
Where the assistance of others is required, firefighters should assign tasks only to those who are capable of performing them and ensure that non-QFRS personnel are suitably dressed or wearing sufficient PPE for the task.
Operations Doctrine
What I Need to Know
- To comply with the Fire and Rescue Service Act, 1990, it is our organisations responsibility to respond to all emergency incidents and to mobilise sufficient resources to manage an incident.
- Rural Fire Service volunteers need to be fully aware of and utilising the latest operational procedures, otherwise there is an increased risk of:
- injury or death to fire-fighters and/or members of the community
- damage to property
- litigation and/or insurance liability.
- All firefighters should be familiar with the QFRS Operations Doctrine relevant to their area of operations to enable effective performance of their duties. Operational procedures are contained in:
- Operations Doctrine (OpsDoc)
- QFRS Incident Management System (IMS)
- Incident Action Guides (IAG)
- Incident Directives
- Incident Forms and Tools
- Field Incident Guide (FIG).
Standing Orders
- An instruction that currently does not exist in the Brigade Manual or Ops Doc but is required for daily business. Standing Orders will be posted on the volunteer portal, and where fitted displayed on brigade station Notice Boards.
Safety Bulletins
- Notification of a significant workplace health and safety issue and will be posted on the Volunteer Portal, and where fitted displayed on brigade station Notice Boards.
- Changes to documents will be made only annually unless deemed urgent and authorised by the Commissioner.
- All documents are available in hard copy and on CD as well as on the Volunteer Portal.
How I do it
- It is the responsibility of all personnel to make themselves aware of the procedures contained in the Operations Doctrine.
- If changes or improvements to documents are identified, please complete a Feedback Form and send it to your Area Director, Rural Operations.
- The documents will be reviewed periodically in consultation with appropriate members of the Service.
- On receipt of changed documentation the Area Director, Rural Operations, will be responsible for ensuring that all manuals held are updated by removing the old version and inserting the new.
Reference Materials
- Area Reference Manual - Business Rule: A5.4.1 Ensure Application of Operations Doctrine (OpsDoc) to Manage Response to Incidents as per Operations Doctrine (OpsDoc)
- Operations Doctrine (OpsDoc) Manual