Special Safety Warnings

Scope

This Operational Guideline covers special safety warnings issued from a State, Area, District, or incident control level to firefighters on the incident ground.

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

• A special safety warning is to be issued by an Incident Management Team (IMT) or Coordination/Communications unit upon becoming aware of any matter, which may significantly affect the safety of people operating at an incident ground under their operational responsibility.
• Special safety warnings are to be limited to significant safety issues and are not to be issued for trivial matters. Examples of significant safety issues include:
  • A hazardous location or event (e.g., a damaged bridge);
  • The presence and location of hazardous trees;
  • An approaching wind change, and/or thunderstorm activity including fire-generated thunderstorms which could cause erratic fire behaviour;
  • Potential for or detection of extreme fire behaviour resulting from phenomenon such as (but not limited to) fire generated vortices, fire coalescence, long distance spot fires or mass spot fire coalescence; and
  • A revised forecast indicating the fire danger will be worse than originally expected.
• Special safety warnings should include a recommended response to the warning. It should also tell the person/unit receiving it to record timing/what they did in response to the warning.
• Special safety warnings may be issued by email, telephone, radio, or Mobile Data Terminal (MDT). Generally speaking, email shall be used down to District or Incident Control Centre (ICC) level, with units in the field being advised by radio, telephone, or MDT.
• If you issue a special safety warning:
  • Keep a copy or a record of its content;
  • Record the time it was issued;
  • List the units or persons to whom it was directly issued;
  • Keep a record of the response to the warning by those units or persons in your span of control; and
  • Ensure that all of the above is captured within Incident Control Online System (ICON).
• If you send a special safety warning and it is not responded to within 30 minutes, or 10 minutes if transmitted by radio or MDT, contact the unit/person involved and ensure they received/actioned it.
• If you receive a special safety warning, unless acknowledged electronically:
  • Record the time it was received;
  • Keep a copy, or record its content; and
  • Record and report back your response to it.

Special Considerations

• Nil.

Related Information

• AIIMS
• RFS OPG - Hazardous Trees