S-T
Crikey, mate. I just asked a simple question....
Services to "save lives" by delivering CPR in terminals can be provided more simply and cheaply by other methods and the fact that an RFFS does the job at some place is nice, but irrelevant. I am NOT downgrading or downplaying the role that a trained professional such as RFFS folks or ambulance staff or even counter staff trained in CPR can do.
Likewise, the value of property saved in or near the vicinity of an airport is irrelevant to the question, as, like any other location in Australia, they have access to local and state funded emergency services. The same could be argued re: physical terminal areas - they are little different to other factories or conference centres, which do not require dedicated stand-by firefighting vehicles....
The cost of a life is a vexed question and often estimated by economists as related to some per capita economic measure. If multiple lives are at stake, then the cost has to be scaled to the most likely incident or if incidents of various sizes are possible, then scaled to a statistically suitable combination of same. The only certain response I have as to the cost of a life was from an insurance person who said that it was cheaper to settle a claim if someone died as a result of an incident rather than survived (NOTE: NOT MY WORDS OR SENTIMENTS). Have a look at your airticket (or relevant airline web site) small print as to how much your life is worth under the Chicago Convention!! Even if you don't put an actual dollar value on a life, it is sometimes valuable to see how much money has to be spent per life saved, and whether it is "acceptable" - decisions regarding delivery of medical care, such as the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme for example, in this country are based on such estimates all the time.
Your question re: cost of services that are never used is valid, but can be stretched to ridiculous extremes. It could save my life to have a complete insulated nuclear shelter under my house in case of nuclear bombardment of my semi-rural retreat - does that make it a valid safety precaution?
Again, my original question was to gauge whether RFFS has saved lives in any aviation emergencies here or overseas, not to cast a slur on the professionals who are asked to do a job that MAY possibly not be necessary at at least some of the locations where RFFS are located or proposed to be located.