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The New South Wales Rural Fire Service (NSW RFS) is a volunteer-based firefighting agency and statutory body of the Government of New South Wales. The NSW RFS is responsible for the general administration of rural fire management affairs including administration of the Rural Fire Fighting Fund, coordination with local government of the State's Rural Fire Brigades, design and provision of firefighting equipment to rural fire brigades through local government, the training of volunteer Rural Fire Brigade members, community education in relation to fire affairs, emergency planning and generally taking measures for the prevention of loss and life and property from fires. The agency is led by its Commissioner, presently Shane Fitzsimmons, who reports to the Minister for Emergency Services, currently the Hon. David Elliott MP. The NSW Rural Fire Service's jurisdiction covers more than 90% of the geographical area of the state of New South Wales in Australia. The NSW RFS is the world's largest volunteer fire service, with 74,516 volunteer members forming 2,032 volunteer brigades across the state, although this figure includes many inactive volunteer firefighters and all support volunteers. The service also employs 824 paid staff who fulfill the senior operational management and administrative roles of the service (current November 2015).〔(Our Structure - NSW Rural Fire Service )〕 == History == More than 100 years ago, the residents of the small town of Berrigan in south west New South Wales, banded together as firefighters to protect their community against the ever-present threat of bush fires. They were Australia's first official bush fire brigade. Prior to 1997, bush fire fighting services in New South Wales were essentially a patchwork of more than 200 separate fire fighting agencies working under a loose umbrella with no single chain of command. The core of the service, then as now, was the volunteer brigades that were organised along council district lines under the command of a locally appointed Fire Control Officer. Fire fighting efforts were funded by the Bush Fire Fighting Fund, established in 1949 and financed by insurance companies, local council and the State Government. A variety of State-run committees and councils oversaw bush fire operations with members drawn from various Government fire fighting agencies and council and volunteer representatives. These groups developed legislation and techniques but in the main responsibility for bushfire management was vested in individual local councils in dedicated bushfire areas as determined under the 1909 Fire Brigades Act. This Act proclaimed the areas serviced by the Board of Fire Commissioners (now Fire and Rescue NSW) and covered the urban areas of Sydney and Newcastle together with most regional and country towns of any significance.〔for an extensive list of regional and country locations covered by the early NSWFB, see Board of Fire Commissioners 1914 Annual Report, Appendix VIII p.13.〕 In January 1994, extreme weather conditions resulted in over 800 bush fires breaking out along the coast of NSW. More than 800,000 hectares of land and 205 homes were burned. 120 people were injured and four people were killed, including 1 volunteer firefighter from the Wingello Bush Fire Brigade (seven were also injured) http://www.rfs.nsw.gov.au/dsp_more_info.cfm?CON_ID=1219&CAT_ID=612.. The financial cost of the disaster was estimated at $165 million. The lengthy Coronial Inquiry that followed recommended the State Government introduce a single entity responsible for the management of bush fires in NSW. The 1997 Rural Fires Act was proclaimed on 1 September, with Phil Koperberg announced as Commissioner. As Director-General of the Department of Bush Fire Services, Koperberg had been in command of the fire agencies battling the 1994 fires and was instrumental in developing the legislation that led to the Rural Fires Act. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「New South Wales Rural Fire Service」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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