Data Source: CFA INCIDENT RESPONSES

Institutional Environment: Data Collector(s):
Data are collected by Country Fire Authority (CFA) through their Fire Incident Reporting System (FIRS).

Collection authority: CFA is bound by the Information Privacy Act 2000 (Victoria), and data were collected in accordance with these principles to maintain confidentiality and privacy of the data provided. Data in FIRS is collected under the CFA Act 1958 s98(a).

Data Compiler(s):
Data are collected by CFA which is a volunteer and community-based fire and emergency service organisation.

Additional information: CFA ensures data are securely maintained, and does not report identifiable information.

Relevance: Data topic: The data represent all incidents attended by CFA.

Level of geography: Data are available for all incidents that CFA attended within CFA jurisdiction in the state of Victoria. Data are also available for other Victorian or inter-state incidents attended by CFA as support agency.

Key Data Items: Key data items available include: • Incident type segmented by fire or non-fire emergency • Incident location segmented by district

Numerator/Denominator Source: N/A

Additional information: Data are collected to meet CFA's statutory obligations, to assist with fire investigations, and to identify areas for prevention activity.

Timeliness: Data collected: Data are collected on an ongoing basis and reported as required.

Data available: Data are available as and when required.

Referenced Period: The reference period is financial years 2009-2010 to 2021-2022.

Additional information: Reporting in FIRS has a variable lag time, therefore there is the potential for incomplete reports to be completed at a later date which may affect the incident numbers.

Accuracy: Method of Collection: • Incidents in FIRS are generated by emergency calls.
• The 000 Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) system places a call to CFA which initiates a record in FIRS.
• The incident information is collected by the firefighters on scene, and is either directly entered by brigades or entered through the call centre.

Data Adjustments: Data were adjusted to aggregate, de-identify and confidentialise records.

Collection size: CFA responds to approximately 40,000 incidents per year.

Under Counts: • No fire reports are completed on days where industrial action is undertaken by firefighters.
• Incomplete fire reports may, on rare occasions, be removed from FIRS. • CFA have processes and procedures in place to minimise errors.

Over Counts: • Incidents are generated and consolidated through the 000 CAD system over counts are unlikely, unless related to definitions of 'incident'. • CFA have processes and procedures in place to minimise errors.

Additional information: • Data processing is automated, and there are standard procedures and manuals in place to minimise data entry and processing errors. • Data are provided only for incidents, not for CFA turnouts.

Coherence: Consistency over time: Data are relatively consistent over time, however definitional changes occur from time to time.

Consistency of jurisdictions: States/Territories report to the Australian Fire and Emergency Service Authority Council (AFAC) through the Australian Incident Reporting System (AIRS). AIRS has standards for data entry including full description of codes which are used throughout the system to achieve uniform descriptions. Data captured by FIRS are consistent with AIRS requirements, therefore data are consistent across Australia.

Numerator/denominator: N/A

There is a consistent time series for these data.

Additional information: The AIRS manual is updated annually which may affect definitions used in FIRS.

Interpretability: Context: N/A

Other Supporting information: Further information is available from AFAC: http://www.afac.com.au/ http://www.afac.com.au/services/data

Additional information: • Data have been aggregated into fire and non/fire incidents.
• These capture many sub-codes relating to incident type. Accessibility: No further data are available.

Contact details:

CFA Headquarters Address: 8 Lakeside Drive, Burwood East, Victoria Australia 3151 Postal Address: PO Box 701,Mount Waverley, Victoria Australia 3149 Telephone: +61(3) 9262 8444 Fax: +61 (3) 9264 6200

Additional information: Data captured include identifiable information, therefore records have been aggregated prior to release.