In order to build capability in the bushfire urban interface, Fire & Rescue NSW (FRNSW) established a Community Fire Unit (CFU) program 21 years ago following the devastating 1994 bushfires. The program grew rapidly and now has over 600 units and 7000 volunteers across NSW. This success has also introduced some growing pains, especially with communicating to a geographically and demographically diverse volunteer workforce.

A report commissioned by FRNSW and undertaken by the Bushfire CRC into CFU activity during October 2013 bushfires in the Blue Mountains specifically identified deficiencies with the way that FRNSW communicates with the volunteer workforce, especially during emergencies. It is critical that FRNSW can ensure the volunteers receive accurate and timely information about fires in their area and manage exposure to different hazards. An options analysis identified that an integrated information and communications system specific to the needs of the CFU was the most appropriate approach. Such a system was able to establish these critical capabilities without introducing a significant ongoing management overhead.

The key features of the new Information and Communication System include the ability to two-way communicate with CFUs, especially regarding events nearby, display intelligence information, crew accountability; and the integration with other emergency management systems for enhanced situational awareness by incident managers into CFU activity.

This presentation will:

• Demonstrate key capabilities of the system
• Discuss how contemporary commoditised technologies (e.g. mobile applications and cloud services) were used in delivering the capability at a low cost
• Discuss significant project aspects including the challenges faced by the volunteers and FRNSW's CFU management team
• Discuss the business benefits the system is expected to deliver.