Training for a safer community

Volunteer development within the Australian Quality Training Framework. Stone, R. (2001) presented at the National Summit for Emergency Management Volunteers, Canberra, 2001.

Today's Australian community is one of the luckiest in the world. We have a strong economy and a pretty good lifestyle. But we live in a continent that is subject to the ravages of drought, flood, storm, fire and numerous other hazards, both natural and human generated that constantly threaten our well being. Australia has an emergency management system that is second to none; a system that is built to a considerable extent on voluntarism. Our communities are protected by networks of voluntary and paid emergency management professionals who are dedicated to preventing or reducing the impact of the many incidents and emergencies that strike every day. While emergency managers can argue about the definition of incident or emergency, there is no argument to those affected - it's a disaster and "they" should do something about it! Fast!

Few people would argue that emergency responders need to be able to do their job safely, effectively and efficiently. The community demands that emergency service people know how to do their job, whether it is to deliver food to a family isolated by flood waters, rescue a drowning surfer, cut a trapped person out of a crashed car, put out a fire or cover a damaged roof. But does the community know, or care, if that person is paid to do that job? I would argue that the distressed person has no interest in the employment status of the individual who is helping them. They just want their problem to go away as quickly as possible. They expect you to be able to do your job as a responder or emergency manager. Community demands on emergency services are increasing and we have to be able to meet those demands if we are to survive.

This paper raises a number issues surrounding training a volunteer emergency service and asks:

• Is training for volunteers different from training for paid staff?
• Should it be?
• What is the impact of the Australian Quality Training Framework?
• How can training be made easier?

 Download the research paper for more information.