Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / Katie Woolf spoke with NT Chief Fire Officer Mark Spain

Transcript

Katie Woolf spoke with NT Chief Fire Officer Mark Spain · 360 with Katie Woolf

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Joining us live in the studio right now is the
• 0:02
  Speaker 1: Northern Territory Fire and Rescue Services Chief Fire Officer for
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: the territory, Mark spain Good morning to you.
• 0:08
  Speaker 2: Good morning, Katie, Good morning listeners.
• 0:10
  Speaker 3: Spainy.
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: We don't usually have a fire theme to the show,
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: but it has been for the last half hour or so.
• 0:15
  Speaker 1: We caught up with the head nurse at Royal dah
• 0:19
  Speaker 1: And Hospital talking about those burns and the increase in
• 0:22
  Speaker 1: the number of burns that they've seen at Royal dah
• 0:24
  Speaker 1: And Hospital over the last year or so when people
• 0:27
  Speaker 1: are obviously doing the burnoffs out on their.
• 0:29
  Speaker 3: Blocks of land.
• 0:30
  Speaker 1: Something that you guys would constantly be dealing with this
• 0:33
  Speaker 1: staying safe around fire. But it was good to catch
• 0:35
  Speaker 1: up with her and sort of hear a little bit
• 0:37
  Speaker 1: more about what they need to do or what people
• 0:38
  Speaker 1: need to do first day wise, you know, in terms
• 0:42
  Speaker 1: of keeping themselves safe.
• 0:44
  Speaker 3: Now out in the rural area.
• 0:46
  Speaker 1: We did get an email that came through yesterday about
• 0:50
  Speaker 1: the situation they say where there's currently a shortage of
• 0:53
  Speaker 1: operational managers which has led to recently closing a Humpty
• 0:57
  Speaker 1: Doo fire station on a few occasions, and a claim
• 1:02
  Speaker 1: that the current workers. Our current managers are working up
• 1:04
  Speaker 1: to ninety hours a week. Spiny, Is this the case.
• 1:08
  Speaker 1: Has there been a situation at different times where there's
• 1:10
  Speaker 1: been a shortage at the Humpty Do fire station.
• 1:13
  Speaker 2: Yeah, that's correct, Coadie.
• 1:14
  Speaker 4: I've actually had to close the fire station there twice,
• 1:18
  Speaker 4: and only twice, and both of those times were either
• 1:20
  Speaker 4: in the wet season and or on the shoulder of
• 1:22
  Speaker 4: the wet season we had. The second one was just
• 1:25
  Speaker 4: after a really good rain as we're headed into the drive,
• 1:27
  Speaker 4: So I had to make that decision to manage my
• 1:30
  Speaker 4: staff and their fatigue, So I just redeployed the fire
• 1:34
  Speaker 4: fighters to other stations for that period of time. Now
• 1:36
  Speaker 4: understanding that it was also mentioned that you know that
• 1:40
  Speaker 4: Humpy Do station is open from Monday to Friday, including
• 1:43
  Speaker 4: public holidays, from eight o'clock in the morning to eighteen
• 1:46
  Speaker 4: hundred or six o'clock at night, and that's staffed. But
• 1:49
  Speaker 4: then after ours we have our fabulous volunteers and also
• 1:53
  Speaker 4: during the day we have our volunteers who are based
• 1:55
  Speaker 4: a Humpty to Do as well. That station is not
• 1:57
  Speaker 4: fit for purpose for a twenty four hour station was
• 2:00
  Speaker 4: designed for those periods of time and even when we
• 2:03
  Speaker 4: do have fire band aids, I'll actually have extra staff
• 2:07
  Speaker 4: located and hope to do as required.
• 2:10
  Speaker 3: And so Spainy.
• 2:11
  Speaker 1: If there is a fire after those hours or you
• 2:14
  Speaker 1: know on those two occasions where the stations had to
• 2:16
  Speaker 1: be closed down or shut for those two occasions, what happens?
• 2:21
  Speaker 1: Are you able to deploy people from different locations or
• 2:25
  Speaker 1: what do you do?
• 2:26
  Speaker 4: Yeah, look all around Dale and Parston we have what
• 2:29
  Speaker 4: they call emergency response areas where I have those fire
• 2:32
  Speaker 4: stations and we have day on Palmerston, Morara Embarynment and
• 2:36
  Speaker 4: of course have to do Monday to Friday. So when
• 2:38
  Speaker 4: I have to do is not there, we'll dispatch Palmerston.
• 2:41
  Speaker 4: And that leads into you know, I was out with
• 2:43
  Speaker 4: Minister Madison and Minister Order the other day looking at
• 2:46
  Speaker 4: the progression of the Palmeston Regional Complex and that's coming
• 2:50
  Speaker 4: on really well, and that's strategically placed to better respond
• 2:54
  Speaker 4: in those times. But once again, after those hours, I've
• 2:58
  Speaker 4: got my help to doolunteers.
• 3:00
  Speaker 2: They are ever ready batteries.
• 3:02
  Speaker 4: They just keep going and going and going, as do
• 3:04
  Speaker 4: my other three brigades out there, Virginia, Bee's Creek, Kilpina
• 3:08
  Speaker 4: and Howard Springs. They need the real big plug. They
• 3:11
  Speaker 4: are sensational workers. We're in their five seas now has
• 3:15
  Speaker 4: been mentioned, and they turn up day in, day out
• 3:18
  Speaker 4: for long hours a day, so they're unsung heroes as
• 3:22
  Speaker 4: permi volunteers and that up and down the highway. I
• 3:24
  Speaker 4: have twenty seven locations across the Northern Territory. Some are
• 3:27
  Speaker 4: manned career personnel, other's majority from my volunteers.
• 3:31
  Speaker 3: So sounds of it.
• 3:33
  Speaker 1: What you're saying is that you know even if there
• 3:35
  Speaker 1: is a situation on the rare occasion that the station
• 3:38
  Speaker 1: isn't open, that there is volunteers and that there are
• 3:41
  Speaker 1: also other you know, other people who are able to
• 3:43
  Speaker 1: be deployed out should there be an emergency involving a fire.
• 3:47
  Speaker 2: That's right.
• 3:48
  Speaker 4: Well, if you have a look at Palms, who got
• 3:50
  Speaker 4: mentioned the other day, it's over thirty two thousand people.
• 3:53
  Speaker 4: Now it's its own satellite city and it has been
• 3:55
  Speaker 4: for while. We're seeing the growth in high rise. So
• 3:58
  Speaker 4: what will happen is if I dispatch Palmerston into the
• 4:01
  Speaker 4: Humpty Do area after ours that are supported by volunteers.
• 4:05
  Speaker 4: Now minded you volunteers aren't road crash trained or hazard
• 4:08
  Speaker 4: as were trained.
• 4:10
  Speaker 2: But they will assist.
• 4:12
  Speaker 4: But what will happen is then I'll recall into the
• 4:14
  Speaker 4: stations that are vacant.
• 4:16
  Speaker 1: Could it mean though a delay in one of those
• 4:18
  Speaker 1: emergency situations I fire all as you've touched on there
• 4:21
  Speaker 1: a car crash.
• 4:23
  Speaker 2: That's what we run with at the moment. CARTI.
• 4:25
  Speaker 4: So it's my job at the end of the day
• 4:28
  Speaker 4: over the next couple of years is to work forward
• 4:32
  Speaker 4: with the executive that I've got and I've only had
• 4:34
  Speaker 4: them in place since January this year, is to present
• 4:37
  Speaker 4: the government the growth. We're a city, we're close to
• 4:40
  Speaker 4: We're big city assets, big tall buildings and if you
• 4:43
  Speaker 4: compare that to Ballarade or Bendigo, you know, I've got
• 4:45
  Speaker 4: thirty four story buildings.
• 4:47
  Speaker 2: Bendigo has two story buildings.
• 4:49
  Speaker 4: We have a port, we have a military base, we
• 4:52
  Speaker 4: have high volume aircraft flying over there on shipping, We've
• 4:56
  Speaker 4: got railway and then in the dry season, we have
• 4:59
  Speaker 4: a massive influx of our great nomads and younger people
• 5:02
  Speaker 4: now because of the COVID situation, so we do have
• 5:05
  Speaker 4: a swelling of that. So I've got to collect all
• 5:07
  Speaker 4: that data and that's what we've been doing over the
• 5:08
  Speaker 4: last six to twelve months and present those cases.
• 5:11
  Speaker 2: Are we ready? You know?
• 5:13
  Speaker 4: And let's put it forward and see knowing that we're
• 5:16
  Speaker 4: also competing with police what they have to put up
• 5:19
  Speaker 4: with health and education. They're on the news all the time,
• 5:21
  Speaker 4: so we're in a good position. I only have fineite resources,
• 5:26
  Speaker 4: and those finite resources are utilized into dangerous situations being
• 5:30
  Speaker 4: grass fires and all structured fires or has.
• 5:32
  Speaker 2: Matt or Roy crash.
• 5:34
  Speaker 4: It's up to me to be able to manage those
• 5:35
  Speaker 4: resources within my capability.
• 5:37
  Speaker 3: Now, I do want to ask you.
• 5:38
  Speaker 1: We know that August twenty nine is now the days
• 5:40
  Speaker 1: when we will be allowed to let off fireworks as
• 5:43
  Speaker 1: part of those Territory Day celebrations. What's going to happen
• 5:46
  Speaker 1: if there is a fireban? Are people still allowed to
• 5:49
  Speaker 1: let off their fireworks?
• 5:51
  Speaker 2: Not at all?
• 5:51
  Speaker 4: If there's a fireban, and that's evidence based through the
• 5:55
  Speaker 4: bomb and then through bushfires and myself. If there is
• 5:59
  Speaker 4: a fireban, there will be no lighting of any fireworks
• 6:01
  Speaker 4: that's deemed as a fire or ignition source, and there's
• 6:05
  Speaker 4: no to be no open cognition sources. So we came
• 6:07
  Speaker 4: close to it a couple of years ago on July first,
• 6:10
  Speaker 4: there's some correct horrific wind conditions come through, so fireban
• 6:14
  Speaker 4: that got pulled at eighteen hundred hours or six o'clock
• 6:18
  Speaker 4: through that and then the fireworks we are able to
• 6:20
  Speaker 4: go ahead. But at the end of the day, if
• 6:22
  Speaker 4: it's a tough if it's a fireban, you won't be
• 6:25
  Speaker 4: able to light your fireworks.
• 6:27
  Speaker 1: Yeah, goodness me, there'll be people listening who are concerned
• 6:29
  Speaker 1: by that is the likelihood, like at that time of
• 6:32
  Speaker 1: the year, at the end of August. Do we have
• 6:34
  Speaker 1: is a fireband you know? Is it something that we
• 6:36
  Speaker 1: see a bit off?
• 6:38
  Speaker 4: We monitor it closely. We've had two already as of
• 6:42
  Speaker 4: Sunday and Monday, but we expect this is known sort
• 6:46
  Speaker 4: of where the conditions that come through the dry through
• 6:49
  Speaker 4: the top end. But nevertheless, if the fireworks go ahead,
• 6:53
  Speaker 4: like I do every fireworks, I will have enhanced crewis
• 6:55
  Speaker 4: on there. My volunteers chump at the bit to assist
• 6:59
  Speaker 4: their communities, which they do regularly, and that's across the territory,
• 7:03
  Speaker 4: and then we'll deal with anything that pops up.
• 7:06
  Speaker 3: So no matter what, you guys will be ready.
• 7:08
  Speaker 2: For it absolutely.
• 7:09
  Speaker 4: And with our twelve recruits coming out on the twelfth,
• 7:12
  Speaker 4: of August, they will be certainly chomping at a bit
• 7:14
  Speaker 4: hopefully to be working that night.
• 7:16
  Speaker 1: Is it a pretty tough course for those recruits to
• 7:18
  Speaker 1: get through. I got told that becoming a fiery is
• 7:20
  Speaker 1: pretty difficult in terms of the fitness and what you've
• 7:24
  Speaker 1: got to do.
• 7:24
  Speaker 2: It's pretty hard, isn't it.
• 7:26
  Speaker 4: It's a four month process to get selected, and it's
• 7:29
  Speaker 4: a further four months through the initial recruit training, and
• 7:33
  Speaker 4: then you've got another eighteen months of getting.
• 7:36
  Speaker 2: All these skills consolidated through that.
• 7:37
  Speaker 4: So, as you can imagine, we don't do a lot
• 7:40
  Speaker 4: of writing, but we have a lot of big trucks
• 7:43
  Speaker 4: to play with, a lot of tools to play with.
• 7:45
  Speaker 4: So you've got to get all that together. And all
• 7:47
  Speaker 4: the incidents that we go to, whether it be as
• 7:48
  Speaker 4: I said, hazards materials, whether we structured fire, wildfire, ray,
• 7:52
  Speaker 4: crash shipping, whatever we have to get called to, that's
• 7:55
  Speaker 4: what we need to be prepared for.
• 7:56
  Speaker 3: Well, Mark Spain, It's always good to catch up with you.
• 7:59
  Speaker 1: The Northern Territories Chief Fire Officer will no doubt talk
• 8:02
  Speaker 1: to you again very soon.
• 8:03
  Speaker 2: Thanks very much, Cotie, thank you