The NSW RFS Library will be closed to members of the public from Friday, 30th September until Tuesday, 4th October as the librarian will be on leave. During this time there will be no staff member to respond to your queries. The library will re-open Wednesday, 5th October 2016.

(published on 28/09/2016)

The NSW RFS has joined forces with the National Library of Australia to digitise the entire collection of the Bush Fire Bulletin dating back to September 1952. All editions of the Bush Fire Bulletin are available online and are fully searchable, making this huge historical archive easily accessible.

Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons has praised the opportunity for the Bush Fire Bulletin to be so accessible. ‘The skill and dedication of our volunteer service has been recorded in the pages of the Bush Fire Bulletin, informing and bringing to life the important work our members undertake,’ Commissioner Fitzsimmons said. ‘I am very proud that this history of the NSW RFS will be available for all of Australia and the world to see.’

National Library of Australia loves an unburnt country according to their media release on the digitisation of the Bush Fire Bulletin. The National Library of Australia spokeswoman, Dr Hilary Berthon said: ‘Digitising journals like the popular Bush Fire Bulletin makes them accessible to anyone via Trove. Trove already provides free online access to about 21 million pages from about 1,200 Australian regional and metropolitan newspapers from every state and territory.’

Search the Bush Fire Bulletin in Trove by using the search box in the image above and clicking Go. More information on searching can be located on the Bush Fire Bulletin website or contacting your library.

(published on 20/09/2016)

(published on 09/08/2016)

It has been over ten years since the ABC kept audiences captivated on Saturday evenings with the drama, Fireflies, detailing the lives of volunteer firefighters in the small community of Lost River. If you want to relive that long hot summer fighting fires with Backa and his fire crew, then this is the series for you. 

Produced by John Edwards (The Secret Life of Us, Police Rescue, Offspring and Big Sky), the whole series of 22 episodes, including the telemovie, has been digitalised from beta master tape to DVD after the library obtained permission from the production company, Endemol Shine. Several sets are available for NSW RFS Members to borrow so don’t hesitate in reviving the tension between Joey and Fifi, the love affair between Luisa and Mike, or the heartbreak Perry faces. To borrow a copy, contact your NSW RFS library.

(published on 11/09/2016)

The NSW Rural Fire Service Library has annual agency membership with the International Association of Wildland Fire (IAWF). The IAWF produces two publications.

The Wildfire Magazine is their free online publication. It is available here. Hardcopies are also available to read in the library.

The International Journal of Wildland Fire (IJWF) is their subscribed journal and is published by the CSIRO, on behalf of the IAWF. It contains new and significant papers that advance basic and applied research concerning wildland fire. More information about the IJWF is found here.

If you are a NSW RFS Member and would like to receive an email alert when a new issue of the International Journal of Wildland Fire is available with a list of the contents, please contact the library.

NSW RFS staff are able to access full text IJWF articles when on the NSW RFS intranet by requesting the password from the library.

(published on 14/08/2016)