Beecroft Fire Station Visit on September 25th, 2019
We were greeted by the team of four firemen who were about halfway through their 24 hour shift. Obviously they have sleeping quarters there and do their own catering. They are on call for the whole time. The Beecroft Station has 4 x 4 man teams with the shift patterns as follows—24 hours on, 24 hours off, 24 on, 24 off, then 4 days off.
They explained that calls come through 000 and are relayed to the nearest station with the next nearest station also sent as a back-up. This is for house fires, however they are also involved in rescue work, car accidents, bush fires and other emergencies as well as commercial and industrial fires. Additional fire units are sent depending on the scope of the problem. Interestingly, when they are called out, the whole team goes leaving the station unattended.
They were very keen to advise on preventative measures with household fires and household safety. They talked about smoke detectors - not just ensuring the batteries are renewed annually, but also replacing any detector more than 10 years old. Of particular interest to members was their offer of individual house inspections to advise on safety and fire prevention. This is a free service and they will service smoke detectors during their visit. They encouraged all members to take advantage of this free service.