State Public Information Officer

Scope

This State Public Information Officer (SPIO) is responsible for ensuring public information and warning requirements are effectively communicated between the State Public Information Unit (SPIU) in the State Operations Centre (OpsCen), and Public Information Officers (PIOs) within Incident Management Teams (IMTs).

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

• Liaises with the State Public Information Coordinator (SPIC) to obtain information and maintain an overview of RFS incidents.
• Facilitates the flow of information to and from PIOs.
  • In cases where no PIO has been activated, the SPIO liaises with the relevant Major Incident Coordinator (MIC) or Incident Controller (IC)/IMT.
• Provides advice and guidance to PIOs and the MIC in relation to incident public information and warnings, including Alert Levels and call to action.
• Maintains an overview of Public Liaison Plans and provides advice and guidance to PIOs.
• Liaises with state level liaison officers for emergency services, and functional areas in support of PIOs and the SPIU.
• Deploys PIOs, Media Liaison Officers (MLOs), Community Liaison Officers (CLOs), and Community Field Liaison Officers (CFLOs) to IMTs.
  • Provides the MIC with information for the Incident Operational Resource Requests (formerly State Assistance Procedures) where relevant.
• Assists with the construction and dissemination of warnings as part of the State Operations Emergency Warning Conference Call.
• Liaises directly with the Emergency Alert Operator to ensure the accuracy of Emergency Alerts.
• Manages the State Public Information Assistant (SPIA) when activated.

Special Considerations

• The SPIO reports to the SPIC.
• At all times the SPIO shall maintain a log and ensure the timely inclusion of information into ICON.

Related Information

• Incident Operational Resource Requests (formerly State Assistance Procedures)