COVID-19 related restrictions significantly impacted FRV’s ability to conduct special skills maintenance training. FRV is trialling online training of some tasks however, with limited skills maintenance opportunities, there is a risk that FRV staff may not meet established training targets. CFA does not currently report on training capability although intends to do so as part of its Year Two Outcomes Framework. FSIM will monitor training in future quarters to identify potential risk, particularly as access to resources, training and support to keep firefighters safe are objectives of the fire services reform.
COVID-19 related restrictions have continued to constrain CFA and FRV’s ability to undertake community engagement activities and education programs. Both organisations are working to create more flexible modes of delivery through online activities, reducing the reliance on traditional face-to-face methods. FSIM will continue to monitor the impact of COVID-19 related restrictions on community engagement and education programs in future reporting.
FSIM welcomes CFA’s and FRV’s Year Two Outcomes Frameworks with the expectation that the outcomes and indicators included in the frameworks will better reflect the Fire Services Statement outcomes. FSIM expects that interim indicators reported in Q1 will be replaced in future reports by revised indicators, aligned to the Year Two Outcomes Frameworks, that are currently being finalised by CFA and FRV. FSIM acknowledges the work undertaken by CFA and FRV to revise their outcomes frameworks and notes that a shift to reporting on indicators aligned to the Year Two Outcomes Frameworks will enable more effective reporting by agencies and monitoring by FSIM from Q2 onwards.
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