VOLUNTEERS with the Country Fire Service remain concerned about planned reforms to SA's emergency services.
The reforms, announced a week before Christmas by Emergency Services Minister Tony Piccolo, would see the Metropolitan Fire Service, the State Emergency Service and the CFS merge under a single commissioner.
The three organisations now operate separately alongside the South Australian Fire and Emergency Services Commission that acts as a support link.
Salisbury Heights group officer and CFS Volunteers' Association member Rob Styling said there were concerns about a lack of detail in the plan.
"We want to see the benefits, either with costs or operationally," he said.
"The whole process is flawed; there is no business case and no business plan."
Mr Styling said the association had worked with Mr Piccolo for six months during the consultation process but despite that, did not have a strong understanding of the reform proposals.
"The original plan was not to touch the services operation," he said.
"They're now talking about changes at the regional level and above, and that's not what we originally understood.
"We want our regions to stay the same; they very ably support us in what we do."
Among proposed changes is the removal of chief officers for the SES, MFS and CFS by the end of June, and the appointment of a single commissioner to oversee the three groups.
Mr Styling said this brought up concerns about the legislative impact under the Fire and Emergency Services Act, which set down the role of the chief officer.
He said there were also concerns about changing the culture of the three services.
"The MFS, SES and CFS - we have similar values but the culture is different," he said.
"We are a fully volunteer service and we want someone in leadership with a perspective that understands volunteers.
"We expect the MFS wants a professional leader who understands their culture."
In a statement, the CFS volunteers' association, which has a member base of about 14,000, said many volunteers had expressed concerns about the government's plan to push this reform through without providing key details.
The statement said: 'Following extensive consultation by the CFSVA, the majority of CFS volunteers have indicated that they will not accept the amalgamation or integration of services at any level that directly impacts on the current CFS chain of command and will vehemently oppose any such attempts'.