DFES workers in a group talking

Department of Fire & Emergency Services

2018 Annual Report Summary

We are proud to work with the WA community to prevent, prepare for and respond to emergencies.  Our annual report provides an overview of how we are performing, including some of the highlights and challenges faced over the past year.

Download full PDF (27MB)

Commissioner's foreword

I am pleased to present the Department of Fire and Emergency Services’ (DFES) 2017-18 Annual Report which details our performance and highlights our commitment to working to build a safer Western Australia.

View the full foreword [PDF, 277kb]

Highlights

  • Kaarla Fire Art project

    The Bunbury Community Elders selected artist Stephen Taylor from the local Aboriginal community for a special project. Stephen was commissioned to paint a landscape and vegetation that is native to the Wardandi Country for a firefighting appliance and two vehicles stationed in Bunbury. The message ‘Caring for Country is a shared responsibility’ is written in both the Noongar language and English.

  • Home Fire Safety Program relaunched

    During 2017-18, career firefighters visited 216 schools to present the Year 3 Home Fire Safety Program which is about how to prevent and respond to home fires. They reached more than 9,000 students from across the State. This is a 15% increase compared with 2016-17.

  • North West Bushfire Patrol comes to Kimberley schools

    More than 60% of bushfires in the Kimberley during 2016-17 were deliberate, suspicious, or caused by human activity.

    Developed in collaboration with local Aboriginal ranger groups and the Parks and Wildlife Service, the North West Bushfire Patrol program available to Kimberley schools includes a multimedia resource pack with geographically and culturally appropriate resources for students.  

  • Mental health is #1

    The annual IPAA WA Achievement Awards recognise both individual and organisational excellence in the public service. This year, we had the second highest number of shortlisted finalists. 

    Our Mental Health First Aid program won the Best Practice in Health and Wellbeing Award, reflecting the value we place on the importance of creating and maintaining a mentally healthy workplace.

  • Supporting those who support our volunteers

    Our volunteers are invaluable for responding to incidents across WA.

    Without the support of the businesses who employ our volunteers we simply would not have the people we need to do our job.

$80M
for new Rural Fire Division

In April 2018, the State Government announced the provision of $80 million for the creation of a Rural Fire Division.

This includes the establishment of an $18 million Bushfire Centre of Excellence, $35 million to fund bushfire mitigation activities, $15 million to extend the Bushfire Risk Management Planning Program, and a range of new support measures for volunteers.

For more information [PDF, 113kb]

Volunteers help shape the future more than 20,000 times 

We believe volunteers’ knowledge, ideas and perspectives are crucial in ensuring that we develop resources, policies and services appropriate for the job, wherever that may be.

Over the last 12 months, we have implemented new approaches, tools and mechanisms to engage volunteers in meaningful and accessible ways resulting in more than 20,000 instances of volunteers’ active involvement in projects vital for emergency services in WA.

Please see page 43 of the Annual Report [PDF, 203kb]

Lost time injuries down by
29% 

Ensuring a healthy and safe work environment is a key goal, and we aim to ensure our staff and volunteers are safe all year round.  

We are proud of our teamwork in both preventing and managing workplace risks and incidents and as a result our injury lost time incidence and severity rate for 2017-18 is down by 29%, our lowest annual rate to date.

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