As members of the community we are all aware of the work of the Public Information Section during an incident, whether we realise it or not. In the past five years it’s likely you have seen a warning, heard a media update, or been to a community meeting about an emergency. If so, you have seen the work of the Public Information Section in action.
By Jess Harris
The Public Information Section supports the Incident Controller, specifically by gathering, assembling and disseminating information, advice and warnings to the community and those beyond the Incident Management Team (IMT).
Over the past five years a significant amount of work has gone into the development, delivery, review and improvement of IMT training packages, of which the Public Information Section has had four formal packages developed, being the first full section to offer a formal training package for each of its units.
The Section supports the incident through:
- Provision of warnings and information to threatened communities, other stakeholders and the general public
- Liaison with news media and management of media liaison issues; and
- Consultation and liaison with affected communities
If you are CFA member and interested in more information about these and other IMT training packages you can find out more on the Statewide IMT Training page (CFAOnline>Training>CourseInformation>IncidentManagementTrainingCalendar)
The current Public Information Section courses scheduled for this year are as follows:
Public Information Officer
- Ferntree Gully ICC: 11-13 August 2015 (Closing 30 June)
- Gisborne ICC: 23-25 October 2015 (Closing 11 September)
Warnings and Advice Officer
- Gisborne ICC: 31 July – 2 August 2015 (Closing 19 June)
- Shepparton ICC: 10-12 November 2015 (Closing 29 September)
Media Officer
- Gisborne ICC: 26-28 May 2015 (Closing 14 April)
- Dandenong ICC: 15-17 September 2015 (Closing 4 August)
Community Liaison Officer
- Shepparton ICC – 7-9 July 2015 (Closing 26 May)
- Ferntree Gully – 12-13 September 2015 (Closing 31 July)
(Please note all prerequisites and nominate using the nomination form obtained from the training webpage. All nominations must be authorised by the Operations Manager).
Author: Jamie Devenish