ABBREVIATIONS
Organisations
FRS - Fire & Rescue Service (also referred to as CFRS - Career FRS)
VFRS - Volunteer Fire & Rescue Service
BFS - Bush Fire Service
BFB - Bush Fire Brigade
VFES - Volunteer Fire and Emergency Service (In 2015 VFS and VES combined)
SES - State Emergency Service
VMRS - Volunteer Marine Rescue Service
DPaW - Department of Parks and Wildlife (previously DEC - Department of Environment & Conservation / CALM - Conservation and Land Management)
Codes
4 4 - Arrived, incident as reported not found & investigating further.
6 6 - Arrived, incident as reported.
8 8 - Arrived, incident is more significant than reported and requires escalation.
1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th alarm etc - generally the number of stations/brigades/units (assistance required). There are about a dozen different types of incident, each having their own needs. (eg a HAZMAT incident has different requirements to a bushfire in the city, a bushfire in the country has different needs to a confined space rescue.) How these requirements are met for a 2nd alarm, 3rd alarm etc is decided using a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP). The SOP has a series of tables which determine what assets are mobilised. The tables are not going to be published here.
Code 90 - Deceased person.
Appliances
SET - Special Equipment Tender
SOSF - State Operational Support Fleet
1-4 or 1.4 - 1000L (approx) 4WD appliance
2-4 or 2.4 - 2000L (approx) 4WD appliance
3-4 or 3.4 - 3000L (approx) 4WD appliance
4-4 or 4.4 - 4000L (approx) 4WD appliance
12-2 or 12.2 - 12000L (approx) 2WD appliance
n.4U (Urban Tanker - basically a 2.4 or 3.4 with breathing apparatus and other firefighting tools for structural firefighting operations)
n.4R (Rural Tanker - a 1.4, 2.4, 3.4 or 4.4 with a range of firefighting tools such as rake-hoes, shovels, drip torches etc for bushfires)
n.4B (Broadacre Tanker -
usually a 2.4 with basic firefighting tools)
RT - Rescue Trailer
RCR - Road Crash Rescue Tender
LT - Light Tanker
LP - Light Pumper
CP - Country Pumper (abbreviation also used for Control Point)
HSR - Hazmat/Structural/Rescue
GPA - General Purpose Appliance (now called an HSR Series 1)
MP - Medium Pumper
MPHR - Medium Pumper, Heavy Rescue
HP - Heavy Pumper
UP - Urban Pumper
UPHR - Urban Pumper, Heavy Rescue
UPT1 - Urban Pumper Type 1 (Formally Urban Pumper)
UPT2 - Urban Pumper Type 2 (Formally Country Pump)
UPT3 - Urban Pump Type 3 (Formally HSR)
ICV - Incident Control Vehicle
LRV - Line Rescue Vehicle
USAR - Urban Search and Rescue
CLP - Combined Ladder Platform
TTL - Turn-Table Ladder
PC - Personnel Carrier
Positions/Titles/Ranks
MLO - Media Liaison Officer
FIO - Fire Investigations Officer
FLO - Field Liaison Officer
DO - District Officer
AO - Area Officer
SO - Station Officer
CFM - Community Fire Manager
CESM - Community Emergency Services Manager
CEMO - Community Emergency Management Officer
Chief - Chief Bush Fire Control Officer (CBFCO)
Deputy - Deputy Chief Bush Fire Control Officer (DCBFCO)
FCO - Fire Control Officer
FWO - Fire Weather Officer
TL - Team Leader
DTL - Deputy Team Leader
LM - Local Manager
DLM - Deputy Local Manager
RL - Rescue Leader
TO - Training Officer
OTO - Operations & Training Officer
K9 - SES tracker dog
USAR K9 - Urban Search and Rescue dog
Qualifications and other things
IFF - Introduction to Fire Fighting
BA - Breathing Apparatus
HAZMAT - Hazardous Materials
AIIMS - Australasian Interagency Incident Management System (formerly ICS - Incident Control System)
SRT - Single Rope Techniques (basic movement on and across ropes)
CRTM - Cliff Rescue Team Member
CRTL - Cliff Rescue Team Leader
CRI - Cliff Rescue Instructor
DBA - Direct Brigade Alarm
PAFTACS - Position and Property threatened, Area (size), Fuel density and type, Time to control, Assistance required, Communications and control point, Surface wind strength and direction
RCR - Road Crash Rescue
SAR - Search and Rescue
Talk Around - Setting a radio to transmit on the output of a repeater channel (I.e. in simplex mode)
TIC - Thermal Imaging Camera
