Urgent Duty Driving - ACTRFS

Firefighters are there to protect the community at all times. This includes whilst attending an emergency incident. In September 2019, the ACT Rural Fire Service (ACTRFS) Chief Officer made a risk based decision to cancel all Urgent Duty Driving (driving under lights and sirens) for all ACTRFS staff and volunteers. The direction was to address the fact that ACTRFS do not provide Urgent Duty Driving training to members, and there is no currency of skill maintained. This poses danger and potential risks to the firefighters and the community. Urgent Duty Driving is a dangerous undertaking, and ACT Emergency Services Agency (ESA) will always put emergency responder and community safety first. ACT Fire & Rescue and ACT Ambulance Service provide Urgent Duty Driving training and assessment to their firefighters and paramedics, with processes for skill maintenance. The ESA is committed to providing the required training and skills maintenance program to RFS volunteers and staff allowing UDD to be reinstated.