Motions

International Firefighters' Day

Debate resumed.

The Hon. A. PICCOLO (Light) (12:43): I rise to speak in support of this motion and to add my thanks, on behalf of my community, to the people who work in firefighting and the emergency services. For people who may be interested, St Florian was a Roman soldier who was killed for his Christian beliefs. He was set afire and then thrown into water, so both water and fire are associated with St Florian. I would like to acknowledge the work undertaken for community safety by not only our firefighters in the Metropolitan Fire Service and the Country Fire Service but also those people who work in the SES. The reality is that on the ground those organisations work together on a regular basis, and they work very well together.

Unfortunately, as a result of the boundary changes I have only one CFS brigade left in my electorate, and that is the Dalkeith CFS. From my point of view the Dalkeith CFS is the most important CFS brigade in the whole state; it is less than two minutes away from my home, so should I ever need it they will be there. Of course, the Metropolitan Fire Service is also not very far away. In terms of my electorate we are served by the Dalkeith brigade of the CFS and we also have the Gawler brigade of the MFS. We are also served by two SES units, Edinburgh and also Kapunda, which cover that area. They all do a wonderful job, and I would like to acknowledge and thank them for the work they do with me in my electorate.

Twice a year, we have community safety days and the three services work with me to inform and educate the community about fire safety. We have two fire safety days, and the one pre-winter is to make sure people understand fires associated with houses. Electric blankets, heaters in the house, etc., can, unfortunately, end up as fires and people do die. The reality is that more people die from a fire in the home than die in bushfires. That is a sad fact of life, and it often happens with elderly people, who are the some of the most vulnerable in our community. Just prior to summer we also have a community safety day to warn people of bushfire risk.

Along with those groups is the State Emergency Service. In winter, they educate people about flooding and about preparation for storms. As has already been mentioned, all three services deal not only with fire and other crises but also with road accidents; in fact, a growing amount of work is done by my brigades with road crashes. Indeed, if I am right, at last count the Dalkeith CFS was the busiest CFS brigade in the state. It is a very active brigade there on the corner of Coventry and Dalkeith Roads, and I am proud to say that they have made me an honorary member of the brigade.

I really do value my relationship with the Dalkeith CFS, the Gawler brigade and both the Edinburgh and Kapunda CFS units. We should also acknowledge the other emergency services—the ambulance and the police—whose members put their lives on the line to keep our communities safe. Together, these services do a wonderful job in making sure there is minimum loss of life and property in our community, and it is appropriate for us to acknowledge them today.

Mr CREGAN (Kavel) (12:47): I rise to support the motion. It is known in our state that we can expect serious fires in six or seven years out of every 10, and the majority of those fires will be in rural and regional South Australia, including in the Hills. The danger of fire is deep in the psyche of my community; we know and understand how dangerous fire can be and how quickly it can spread through the Hills.

It has been a privilege to visit many CFS stations and volunteers in my district. The professionalism and dedication of local CFS volunteers cannot be overstated. Also within my electorate is the CFS training centre at Brukunga and the CFS air operations airstrip. Put simply, the Hills depend on the CFS. The relationship between CFS volunteers and my community is a long one. Local brigades were often sponsored by councils, and men and women in the district would be called together in times of emergency using whatever resources could be requisitioned.

Before 1939, in Mount Barker the district council had only 30 knapsacks and leather-faced beaters for community firefighting. After January 1939, when a devastating bushfire burned through from Stirling to Strathalbyn, incinerating nearly everything in its path, a brigade was formed. Brigades were in the course of being formed elsewhere, or already had been formed.

During history month, I had the opportunity to examine the Nairne CFS history collection. It was a moving experience. Their dedication to assisting our community over many years must be recorded here, as must the exceptional dedication of the Carey Gully CFS, the Brukunga CFS, the Oakbank/Balhannah CFS and the Hahndorf CFS. I have also had the opportunity to meet with the Onkaparinga Group, as a whole, at the Onkaparinga Group base in Woodside. I acknowledge and thank their members for their extraordinary service and their willingness to share their knowledge and experience with me.

It can sometimes be forgotten that the CFS not only fight fires, as other members have today reminded the house. They are also tasked with, amongst other things, assisting in significant road accidents. Mr Deputy Speaker, as you know, road trauma is all too common in the Hills and especially at night or during wet and treacherous conditions—but not only in those conditions. The skills that CFS members have developed within my electorate have saved many, many lives. In closing, I briefly reflect on the Ash Wednesday fires and on what Barbra Leslie, from Mylor, told The Advertiser in February 2013:

It was a Red Alert day at the end of a hot, dry spell that had scorched the ground tinder dry. Temperatures hit 43C and the squally northeasterly winds were gusting at 75 km/h...

At her home in Mylor, [Ms] Leslie knew a bushfire was coming. 'It's in the air. The birds tell you, you can smell the dryness before the fire even starts…All it takes is a bit of broken glass. The littlest thing can start one.'

Mr Deputy Speaker, I mentioned that the fear and the risk of fire is deep in the psyche of my community. As I think you may be aware, the parents of my partner, Jen, had a property at Mylor. That is partly why I reflect on the experience of Mylor. Jen's father was a member of the CFS and the CFS saved Jen's parents' house during the Ash Wednesday fires. On that same day, in only a few short hours, 28 people died, 14 of whom, I understand, were from the Hills. Three CFS volunteers also lost their lives and more than 300 homes were destroyed. We are, therefore, personally grateful as a family to the CFS, but our gratitude is no more or less than the fulsome gratitude that we all feel throughout the Hills for the CFS and for all firefighters.

On the really tough days, on the really tough fire-danger days, and on other days, on wet and dangerous roads, the lives of CFS volunteers are genuinely at risk, and they place their lives at risk so that they can protect ours. There can be no greater contribution to our community than to consciously make the decision to put yourself in the path of danger to assist or care for others.

Mr TEAGUE (Heysen) (12:52): I, too, rise to support the motion. As my colleague the member for Kavel has, I also take the opportunity to focus on the volunteer service of CFS firefighters. I am very conscious that I spoke in this place yesterday in my Address in Reply about community and volunteers. There is no better lived example of the value to community than the contribution of our volunteer firefighters. That is also no more apparent than in the Adelaide Hills, where Heysen is situated.

There are many CFS brigades within Heysen, and I take the opportunity to mention briefly three of them to illustrate the range and nature of the work that the volunteers do. At one end of the scale we have the Stirling CFS brigade responding to a very large number of call-outs in the course of any year. They are really on the edge of what one might expect of a professional MFS unit. The services they provide are critical both in relation to their response to what one first thinks of—grass fires and bushfires and so on—but also, particularly given their proximity to the South Eastern Freeway, their response to car accidents and incidents on the freeway that so often occur.

To illustrate the scope and scale of the work that the Stirling CFS brigade has done in recent times, I will reference history. In 1995-96, the Stirling CFS brigade responded to 163 call-outs. Fast-forwarding to 2015-16, the number was still in that order with 227 call-outs, and in the 2016-17 year the brigade responded to 388 call-outs. That is a 141 per cent increase in just that year and illustrates the trajectory. On a recent visit to the Stirling CFS brigade, I saw a whiteboard maintained there indicating the numbers each year. If that was expressed in a line, you would see it rapidly accelerating. So the Stirling CFS brigade and its volunteers are increasingly called out in a wide variety of circumstances.

I also note that just yesterday we came to the end of what was an extended fire season this year, given the very dry conditions that the Hills in particular have experienced ever since Christmas. It is a reminder that we live in circumstances, particularly in the Hills, where we need to be ever watchful of the fire risk and never more so than in a particularly dry year such as this one with the extended fire danger season.

The other two brigades that I would like to mention briefly in the time available are the Blewitt Springs Country Fire Service brigade and the Bridgewater CFS brigade. The Blewitt Springs brigade is at the centre of the community of Blewitt Springs. Noel and Luci Sibley, who are stalwarts of that brigade, exemplify the spirit of volunteerism and how the CFS, in the circumstance of a very small community, can really be at the centre of community life. I had the pleasure of joining Noel and Luci last Christmas at the CFS shed which was temporarily turned into a dinner venue, and I daresay just about all of the Blewitt Springs community was present on that occasion. It was a tremendous example of how the fabric of the community is reinforced by the CFS as a focal point.

I will mention very briefly in the time remaining the Bridgewater CFS brigade, my local brigade. There is a hero of that brigade by the name of Charlie Rosewarne, a much-celebrated pioneer of the CFS. Much more ought be said about Charlie Rosewarne and when I have an opportunity to do so, I will. All of them are supported by all of us and, as we recognise them on this occasion, it is a tremendous opportunity to recognise their service.

Ms HABIB (Elder) (12:59): Thank you to all the members who have contributed to the motion. On behalf of the government, I would like to acknowledge the incredible work of firefighters across our state. We applaud their courageous effort and show our appreciation to all firefighters past and present. I commend the motion to the house.

Motion carried.

Sitting suspended from 12:59 to 14:00.