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House of Assembly - Fifty-Second Parliament, Second Session (52-2)
2012-04-05 Daily Xml
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METROPOLITAN FIRE SERVICE SESQUICENTENARY

Ms BEDFORD (Florey) (15:48): I was following all of that; it was so good. My question is to the Minister for Emergency Services, and it is time sensitive. Can the minister outline to house how the MFS will celebrate its sesquicentenary?

The Hon. J.M. RANKINE (Wright—Minister for Police, Minister for Correctional Services, Minister for Emergency Services, Minister for Road Safety, Minister for Multicultural Affairs) (15:48): I thank the member for Florey for her question. Over the coming months, the South Australian Metropolitan Fire Service will celebrate its 150th anniversary of providing fire protection to our community. The MFS has a proud history. It was originally known as the South Australian Fire Brigade, and documents show it was formed on 5 November 1862 and is now one of the oldest legislated government fire services in the world.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. J.M. RANKINE: Locally and internationally, our South Australian MFS is held in high esteem and employs over 1,000 staff across 36 stations, 20 in the metropolitan area and 16 in our regions. The MFS will mark this occasion with six months of celebrations, beginning with an opening parade on Thursday 26 April at the Adelaide Fire Station in Wakefield Street.

Several of the state's firefighter memorials will also be refurbished and unveiled. This includes the City of Singapore ship fire memorial at the Cheltenham Cemetery, Fireman Gardner's drinking fountain at Elder Park, the Emergency Services Memorial at Centennial Park, and the Wall of Remembrance at the Adelaide Fire Station. A shift parade will follow at the Adelaide Fire Station on 4 May to recognise St Florian's Day, also known as International Firefighters Day. St Florian is the patron saint of firefighters.

Meantime, all MFS fire appliances will be branded with the message '1862-2012 Serving South Australia'. An interactive stand will again be included in the program at the Royal Adelaide Show, followed by a further shift parade at the Adelaide Fire Station on 10 October for National Firefighters Remembrance Day. Celebrations will conclude with the traditional MFS open day on 10 November following the Christmas pageant.

Whilst this anniversary is cause for celebration, it is also a timely opportunity to remember the 10 MFS firefighters who have lost their lives in the line of duty. This includes the City of Singapore fire at Port Adelaide, where three firefighters lost their lives in the line of duty—Albert Greenman, George Anderson and James Hickey. As a mark of respect, celebrations will start on 26 April, the day of the tragic ship fire 88 years ago.

The MFS also has a proud history of community education and engagement, whether it be taking tour groups through fire stations, educating little ones about the dangers of fire, their successful road awareness program or reminding people to change the batteries in their smoke alarms. They work hard to educate all sections of our community. Little known, I think apart from by those who benefit directly, is that MFS officers also fund Camp Smokey for children who have suffered burns, and they pay for urgent household items to help people who have suffered the misfortune of fire. They raise this money not from external fundraising but from direct deductions from their pay packets.

South Australians rightly hold this service, the men and women of the MFS, in the highest esteem. Like all our emergency services personnel, firefighters give an enormous amount. Daily, they put their lives on the line to protect others. By supporting the 150th celebrations, South Australians have the chance to thank our MFS for the role it plays and has played over the last 150 years in keeping our community safe.

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