Events

2017 WA Fire and Emergency Services Conference

The seventh annual Western Australia Fire and Emergency Services conference (WAFES) will be held from Friday 8 to Sunday 10 September at the Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre.

The theme for the 2017 WAFES conference is Changing Lives.

This year the program will include presentations from
- Director General Emergency Management Australia Mark Crosweller AFSM
- Major General John Cantwell AO DSC
- Robyn Moore, motivational speaker

For more information visit WAFES Conference.

SES WOW Day

Wear Orange Wednesday (WOW Day) is being held on 10 May 2017, coinciding with National Volunteer Week (8 to 14 May 2017).

WOW Day provides an opportunity for the community to recognise and celebrate the hard work and dedication of State Emergency Service (SES) volunteers throughout Australia.

The community can show their support in a very simple, but highly visible way by wearing orange. This is the colour worn by more than 2,000 SES volunteers across Western Australia who provide assistance to the community during natural disasters and emergencies.

Take this opportunity to give back to those who give so much.

Think orange and thank orange.

Thanks, SES!

Firefighting School Graduations

Every year DFES holds graduation ceremonies for new Fire and Rescue Service (FRS) recruits to thank them for their commitment to emergency services in Western Australia.

The ceremonies give family and friends an opportunity to let our new FRS recruits know how valued they are as they embark on the beginning of a new firefighting career with DFES.

This event is held each year in recognition of recruits who have graduated as career FRS firefighters.

For more information please contact the Events and Promotions Officer on (08) 9395 9894.

Volunteer Fire and Rescue Service State Championships

Every year the VFRS championships showcase the skill, speed and agility of our firefighting volunteers in a spirited sporting environment.

The Championships are the pinnacle of the VFRS brigade competition and encourage healthy rivalry among our volunteer firefighters.

The VFRS State Championships provide an opportunity to strengthen existing friendships and form new bonds with brigade members throughout Western Australia.

2016 dates:

- Alcoa State Open Championships - Harvey - Saturday 5 March and Sunday 6 March
- Annual State (Easter) Championships - North Fremantle - Saturday 26 March and Sunday 27 March
- State Junior Championships - North Fremantle - Saturday 26 and Sunday 27 November

Requests for nominations for these Championships are usually sent out to Brigades about 8-10 weeks ahead of the Championships.

For further information, please contact Office Administrator Jodie Neuzerling by calling 9279 8610 or emailing admin@frsvols.asn.au

International Firefighters' Day Memorial Service

DFES holds an annual Memorial Service in recognition of International Firefighters' Day.

The 2017 Memorial Service will be held on Sunday 7 May.

The service acknowledges Western Australian career and volunteer Fire and Rescue Service firefighters, and volunteer Bush Fire Service firefighters, who have passed away in the line of duty.

The Department welcomes the attendance of family members of those who are being remembered, and all past and present career and volunteer firefighters. Members of the public who wish to remember WA fallen firefighters are also welcome.

For more information and to register your attendance, please contact the Events and Promotions Officer via email at rsvp@dfes.wa.gov.au

National Volunteer Week

The 2016 National Volunteer Week will run from Monday 9 to Sunday 15 May.

National Volunteer Week is an opportunity to focus on volunteers across Australia and is a chance to acknowledge the critical roles they perform and to formally thank them for their enormous contributions to our respective communities.

In Western Australia there are more than 29,000 Emergency Services Volunteers and this special week is also an opportunity to thank the families, friends and employers of our own volunteers (including those who are self-employed) for the backing they provide to volunteering, by allowing the volunteers to do their jobs.

Bushfire Action Month

Bushfire Action Month is held annually in October, to call upon the community to prepare their homes and families ahead of the bushfire season. For more information, click here.

Thanksgiving Service

DFES holds a Service of Thanksgiving for personnel and volunteers at St Georges Cathedral each year. This service provides an opportunity for the State's emergency services staff, volunteers, their families and supporters of all denominations to come together in recognition of their dedicated contribution and that of their peers. It also provides a forum to say thank you and offer a blessing for the upcoming cyclone, fire and storm seasons.

The 2016 Thanksgiving Service will be on Sunday 16 October.

Volunteer Employees Recognition Awards (VERA)

The DFES Volunteer Employer Recognition Awards (VERA) acknowledge the important contribution made by employers and self-employed volunteers in the delivery of emergency services in Western Australia.

The 2017 VERA ceremony will be on Friday 3 November.

Career National Medal and Emergency Services Diligent Service Medal Ceremony

This ceremony is an opportunity for DFES to recognise, celebrate and thank career emergency services personnel for giving their time to serve others and achieve their best for DFES and the community.

The 2016 medal ceremony will be on Wednesday 22 June.

Bushfire Season (October to April)

The bushfire season in the south west of the State runs from November to April. If you live or travel near bushland, you are at risk of bushfires.

Every year DFES promotes bushfire awareness to help communities prepare for and respond to the threat of bushfire.

This includes supporting the State Government’s Are You Ready? bushfire campaign. The key message of this campaign is very simple - preparing for and responding to bushfires is a team effort and everyone needs to play their part. For more information visit www.areyouready.wa.gov.au.

A great way to get involved is to participate in Bushfire Action Month, which is held during October. During Bushfire Action Month, brigades and community groups hold a number of events across the State, to help you prepare your home and family ahead of the bushfire season. These events include street meets, property walk throughs and fire brigade open days where the community can speak to volunteer firefighters and Bushfire Ready groups about how to prepare for bushfires.

You can get prepared all year round by downloading a copy of Prepare. Act. Survive. (PDF). Make a bushfire survival plan and get your property ready. Don’t hesitate, the next big fire could happen near you.

Click here for DFES bushfire safety information.

Smoke Alarm Campaign (April)

Each year families across Australia lose a loved one as a direct result of a house fire. Many do not have a working smoke alarm installed.

DFES coordinates an annual pre-winter campaign, 'only working smoke alarms save lives' to encourage people to maintain a working smoke alarm in their homes and properties.

Click here for DFES Smoke Alarms information.

Dry Season

As much as 30 per cent or 13 million hectares of the Kimberley’s 42 million hectares of land is normally impacted by fire.

Bushfire season in the Kimberly officially runs annually from June to late October, with fire management plans and controlled burning starting as early as April.

Depending on weather conditions the bushfire risk can lead into December.

A large number of bushfires start in very remote locations and are only detected via satellite once they grow in size. Often the causes are unknown as these fires are inaccessible and firefighters are unable to respond to them.

The aim of this campaign is to raise awareness of fire safety issues, provide advice about early season controlled burning and educate people about what to do during a pastoral bushfire.

Home Fire Safety Campaign (June)

Every year on average five people tragically lose their lives in house fires.

Home Fire Safety aims to educate people about fire risk and safety in their residential home.

Winter traditionally shows an increase in the number of home fires as people use more appliances to stay warm, while the month of August is when the most fatal fires occur in Western Australia (WA).

The key causes of the fire include unsafe use of heaters, open fireplaces and smoking.

During the winter of 2012, for example, firefighters attended to more than 280 house fires in WA which caused nearly $12.5 million in damage.

Click here for DFES home fire safety information.

Wet Season (November - April)

The Western Australian coastline between Broome and Exmouth is the most cyclone prone region in Australia.

Cyclone season operates from November to April each year, with an average of five tropical cyclones occurring each season off the northwest coast. Typically two cyclones cross the coast one of which is likely to be severe.

To minimise the impact cyclones have on communities in high risk areas DFES delivers a Wet Season campaign to help people prepare for, respond to and recover safely from cyclones, floods and storm surge.

DFES’s Wet Season campaign drive is aimed at raising community awareness and promoting the SES 132 500 number and valuable contribution of SES volunteers.

Click here for DFES Cyclone information.