Victorian firefighters exemplify what it means to work together as one unit to keep our communities safe - before, during and after emergencies.
Fire Rescue Victoria (FRV) is one of the agencies dedicated to protecting our state.
“FRV is a modern-day fire service – and we are here to look after Victorians," said Fire Rescue Commissioner Gavin Freeman.
He explained that in times of crisis and large-scale events like bushfires, storms and large building fires, it’s important that agencies work collaboratively.
“On a day-to-day basis, we work so closely with the Country Fire Authority (CFA), where we overlap in terms of our capability and locations – and while we have defined districts and defined fire areas, when it comes to emergency response, we really don't worry about the lines on the map,” he explained.
“And those services - whether they are CFA or FRV - will respond and work together.”
Pictured above: Gavin Freeman AFSM
As we move through summer, FRV's focus shifts to responding to heightened fire risk, including refreshing its summer preparedness training.
“We're ensuring that our contribution to the state, in terms of incident management teams and strike teams, is ready to go,” he said.
“While we focus on the summer season risk right now, it's also important to remember that we have a year-round risk day-to-day that I'd like people to be conscious of. We know that, on average, 18 people die in house fires in Victoria each year - and many more are injured,” he explained.
“So, whilst appropriately focusing on the summer season risk, please don't forget about the risk that exists in your homes every day.”
FRV has 85 fire stations and is primarily responsible for the metro Melbourne area and the outer metro area, in addition to servicing a number of regional locations across the state, including Bendigo, Shepparton, Wangaratta and Wodonga to name a few.
“Out of those stations, we provide a range of services in addition to responding to fires. Road crash rescues are a big part of our service. We are also particularly proud of our emergency medical response capability, where we respond alongside Ambulance Victoria and provide the best possible outcomes to people having a medical episode,” he said.
FRV also has technical rescue capability, which includes specialist areas like hazmat response, marine rescue, urban search and rescue and remotely piloted aircraft. The fire service also has a world-class training facility located in Craigieburn, ensuring firefighters are trained at the highest level they can be.
“We take training of our 4,600 people very seriously. Our personnel are highly skilled and trained as necessary, as they need to be ready for whatever they may encounter - each time a truck rolls out the door,” he said.
“More often than not, each incident they go to will have something different about it - so they need to be ready for anything."
