Victoria and SA brace for all-time temperature records as BOM warns 'nowhere is going to escape the heat’.

Emergency services are bracing for scorching conditions across South Australia and Victoria, with an expert warning that "nowhere is going to escape the heat" as sweltering temperatures threaten to break all-time records.

Record temperatures are expected across SA and Victoria tomorrow.

In South Australia, Ceduna reached its hottest day on record today with the mercury climbing to 48.4 degrees Celsius just before 3:00pm — half-a-degree hotter than the record set in 1990.

"South Australia is once again experiencing a severe heatwave," Jonathan Fischer, a Bureau of Meteorology emergency services meteorologist, said.

Read the ABC News story by Camron Sleesor, Stephanie Ferrier and Sean Wales - “Victoria and SA brace for all-time temperature records as BOM warns 'nowhere is going to escape the heat’.”

Cardiac arrests spike, deaths likely as state swelters through heatwave

The heatwave sweeping Victoria has already led to a spike in cardiac arrests, and things are only going to get worse as the heat goes on, with emergency services expecting deaths.

Beachgoers in St Kilda on Tuesday.

The heatwave is forecast to last until Friday at least and is bringing extreme heat to some parts of the state, with overnight temperatures forecast to remain high as well. Parts of the Mallee face several days of 45-degree temperatures.

Mildura and Swan Hill both topped 45 on Tuesday.

“We’re in the second day of this," Justin Dunlop, Victoria’s state controller for heat, said on Tuesday. ''And we know the third, fourth and fifth day is when we expect to see a lot of people becoming unwell, and possibly dying.”

Read the story from The Age by Liam Mannix and Simone Fox Koob  - “Cardiac arrests spike, deaths likely as state swelters through heatwave.”

Short, sharp shocker looms, with fireys braced for a 'nasty day

Emergency services are on alert for a dangerous Friday, with extreme heat and strong, gusty winds forecast and the Country Fire Authority bracing for "uncontrollable, unpredictable and fast-moving" fires.

Fire crews are braced for a 'killer day.'CREDIT:

A statewide total fire ban is in place, with temperatures forecast to reach scorching highs.

Melbourne is expecting a top of 42 degrees, while Geelong is forecast to hit 43. In the state’s north-west, Mildura and Swan Hill are preparing for a whopping 46 degrees.

The Bureau of Meteorology has issued severe weather warnings for damaging winds of up to 100 km/h in the afternoon and a risk of thunderstorms and dry lightning which could spark fires but with little rain.

Read the story from The Age by Anna Prytz - “Short, sharp shocker looms, with fireys braced for a 'nasty day.

Melbourne weather: Several deaths from heat, Avalon Airport hits 42 degrees

Extreme heat has caused several deaths across the state, emergency services say.

Not such a bad place to have a snooze the temperature climbs. 

Ambulance Victoria responded to 31 cardiac arrest calls on Thursday, a significant spike, Paul Holman, the agency's state health commander, said on Friday. Several of those people died, he said.

"That will be due to the heat.

"The vulnerable in our community die as a result of this heat. Heat kills.”

Read the story from today’s Melbourne Age - “Melbourne weather: Several deaths from heat, Avalon Airport hits 42 degrees.

How do we stop volunteer emergency service workers quitting?

Emergency services in Australia are struggling to hold onto their volunteer staff. In New South Wales, for example, only half of the 1,700 volunteers who join the State Emergency Service are still active members a year later. In Western Australia, the overall yearly turnover is 12-18% and rising.

Changes in leadership behaviour may
 help with volunteer retention.

This represents a serious drain on the sector. Precise volunteer numbers are not always collated, but we estimate that more than 240,000 emergency service volunteers across Australia help to protect regional, rural and remote communities where the sprawling areas make it impractical to rely solely on career emergency workers.

The large turnover is an economic liability, as training and uniforms (including personal protective equipment) are expensive. Meanwhile, the constant drain of volunteers can affect not just operational capacity, but morale too.

Volunteer brigades and units are managed by the volunteers themselves. This can lead to tensions between these quasi-independent groups and the paid staff who work in the regional, district of head office. But such tensions can also arise within the volunteer groups themselves, and effective leadership is therefore a crucial element in retaining new recruits.

Read the piece on The Conversation by a trio from the University of Wollongong - “How do we stop volunteer emergency service workers quitting?”