s44 Incident Controller's Report
Strategic
Scope
This Operational Guideline covers the requirement for an Incident Controller’s (IC) Report, following an incident declared under section 44 (s44) of the Rural Fires Act 1997.
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
- For any s44 incident under their control, the IC is responsible for preparing and submitting an s44 IC report. The overview will be prepared using the s44 IC Report - General template and presented as part of the Bush Fire Management Committee (BFMC) debrief, conducted in line with the BFCC rules.
- Additionally, for s44 events subject to significant review, a formal report will be required. This will be completed using the s44 IC Report - Formal template. Circumstances when a formal report will be required include:
- Any s44 event that may be subject to formal inquiry / review (e.g., involving a fatality).
- s44 events that resulted in significant impact/s on community/s.
- Complex and/or prolonged events.
- Any event where the IC has a need to make additional observations other than those determined at the BFMC debrief.
- Any event determined by the Director, State Operations that a formal report is required.
- All s44 IC reports must be provided within 60 days of revocation of the s44 declaration unless specific extension is granted by the Director, State Operations.
- s44 IC reports are important for incident review and analysis and contribute to the overall lessons management framework of the RFS. It is recommended that s44 IC Reports are subject to an internal AAR facilitated by Operational Improvement.
Special Considerations
- Where an IC believes there are matters of a confidential nature that need to be raised, this should be done under confidential cover direct to the Commissioner and should be separate to the s44 IC report.
- A s44 event may be the subject of various review proceedings. Detailed investigations requiring independent analysis are matters for the Commissioner or Coroner to determine.
- In most instances, the summary overview presented at the BFMC debrief will also form the basis of the s44 IC report and may form an appendix to the formal report.
- Following the BFMC debrief, any identified insights or observations should be included at the end of the presentation and
- The report allows for additional detail and analysis of the s44 event to be documented – far greater than the summary that is presented at a BFMC debrief.
Related Information
- RFS OPG - s44 Incident Controller Letter
- s44 Incident Controller Letter - Template
- s44 Incident Controller's Report – Formal Template
- s44 Incident Controller's Report – General Template
- BFMC Debrief - Summary Report Template
- BFCC Policy 1/2024 Management of Bushfire Operations
Definitions
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| AAR | After Action Review - Similar to a debrief, an AAR involves describing what was intended, what actually happened, what mistakes were made and how participation might improve in the future. |
| BFCC | The Bush Fire Coordinating Committee - The peak body for bush fire risk management in NSW, constituted under section 46 of the Rural Fires Act 1997. The BFCC is responsible for planning in relation to fire prevention and coordinated bush firefighting, advising the Commissioner on bush fire prevention, mitigation, and coordinated bush fire suppression and such other functions imposed on it by the Act. |
| BFMC | Bush Fire Management Committee - operating in each area of NSW, under the direction of the Bush Fire Coordinating Committee. Comprised of local members, landholders, land managers, fire authorities, and community organisations; the BFMC provide cooperative interaction between organisations, agencies, and the community for coordinated bush fire management in their area. |
| Bush Fire Management | All those activities directed to prevention, detection, damage mitigation, and suppression of bush fires; including legislation, policy, administration etc. |
| Commissioner | The Commissioner of the RFS. |
| debrief | To gather information from the participants in an action so as to gauge the success or otherwise of the action at the end of the task, shift, tour, or incident. |
| framework | An organisational structure that identifies the key areas, such as culture, governance, engagement, capability and planning, which are required for an organisation to implement an effective process. |
| IC | Incident Controller - The individual responsible for the management of all incident control activities across a whole incident. |
| insights | A deduction drawn from the multiple observations collected which are similar in nature and need to be further considered. |
| lessons management | A component of knowledge management that seeks to introduce better practice and improvement opportunities for an organisation’s systems and processes. It broadly involves, collecting and analysing information and data to develop, implement and share changes intended to improve efficiency and/or effectiveness. |
| observations | A fact or occurrence that has been seen, heard, noticed or experienced that is either positive or an opportunity for improvement. |
Content Owner:
Operational Response
Date Approved:
14 Sep 2024
Review Required:
14 Sep 2027
Version:
1.0
If you have any questions or feedback on Operational Doctrine, please email Ops.Performance@rfs.nsw.gov.au.
