Alarm and Dispatch

Scope

This Operational Guideline is for the receipt and dispatch of all emergency calls.

Fundamental Protocols underpin the actions of all NSW Rural Fire Service (RFS) members and must be adhered to at all times. They outline the Principles of being an RFS member and provide guidance on conduct to support the safety and wellbeing of members.

Guiding Principles

• Unless received electronically into Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD), the RFS member receiving the call is to accurately record all details of the incident, in particular:
  • Type of incident: such as house fire, bush/grass fire, car accident, or other emergency;
  • Location of incident: such as address, property name, land feature / grid reference; and
  • Details of who reported the incident, (if available), including name and phone number.
• If the person receiving this information is not the Operational Communications Centre (OCC) or FireCom, they should pass it on immediately to triple zero (000), OCC / FireCom, or the responsible agency.
• If the incident is processed through CAD, the business rules approved by the District Manager (DM) and Senior Leadership Team (SLT) will recommend a weight of response. If not, the OCC or FireCom is to dispatch the following minimum response:

Special Considerations

• Larger initial responses may be specified for grass/bush fires on days of High (or above) Fire Danger, or for structure fires or vehicle incidents which are known to be large.
• Specialist vehicles may be dispatched to assist with confirmed incidents such as SCBA Support, Catering, Operational Command Vehicle (OCV) as determined by the Operational Supervisor or DDOO.

Related Information

• AFDRS – Australian Fire Danger Rating System
• OMP 2.01 State Operations Coordination, Operational Readiness and Alert Status
• RFS OPG - Special Precautions during Extreme or Catastrophic Bush Fire Danger