Rural Field Liaison Officer

Scope

The Rural Field Liaison Officer (RFLO) is responsible for disseminating information and warnings to affected communities and acts as an information conduit between the rural community and the Incident Management Team (IMT). The RFLO must have relevant rural knowledge and experience.

Fundamental Protocols underpin the actions of all NSW Rural Fire Service (RFS) members and must be adhered to at all times. They outline the Principles of being an RFS member and provide guidance on conduct to support the safety and wellbeing of members.

Key Accountabilities

• Disseminate information and warnings to affected rural communities as directed by the CLO.
• Identify key rural community members and groups to consult with and ensure formal and informal open lines of communication exist, e.g. NSW Farmers Association, Local Land Services and local Government.
• Actively engage and listen to rural community members to understand their concerns and to develop relationships during the incident.
• Assist the Community Liaison Officer (CLO) with any tasks required in the dissemination of information and warnings to the rural community.
• In consultation with the CLO, identify and implement opportunities for the dissemination of information and warnings.
• Maintain knowledge of current and forecast weather conditions, fire conditions, firefighting activities and affected rural communities.
• Undertake taskings as briefed by the CLO, including Bush Fire Information Points (BFIPs), door knocking and community meetings.
• Undertake dynamic risk assessments (DRAs) for all activities.
• Provide situation reports (Sitreps) to the CLO on a regular basis.
• Assist with evacuation plans under instruction of appropriate authorities. E.g. NSW Police Force (NSWPF).
• Relay urgent incident related information to CLO.
• Provide feedback to the CLO on the effectiveness of information and warnings and communicate positive and negative community sentiment.
• Respond to enquiries from the rural community requesting incident information.
• Liaise with relevant fireground personnel as per the Incident Action Plan (IAP).
• Assist with the rural community’s transition to the recovery phase, ensuring open lines of communication remain in place.
• Maintain accurate records in an operational log book.

Special Considerations

• The RFLO reports directly to the CLO, or Public Information Officer (PIO) if no CLO has been activated.
• Activation of the RFLO should be considered for any fire with a rural interface that has the potential to affect significant rural assets and businesses.
• The RFLO must ensure the appropriate equipment and information to safely undertake taskings has been received from the CLO.
• The RFLO works alongside the Community Field Liaison Officer (CFLO) if activated.

Related Information

• Nil