The fire in HMAS Westralia which claimed four lives was the catalyst for a formal ceremony at Fleet Base East late last month.

It saw the signing of a formal "memo of understanding" between the Royal Australian Navy and the NSW Fire Brigades.

The Maritime Commander, RADM Geoff Smith signed for the RAN while Commissioner Ian McDougall (formerly VADM McDougall) signed for the Fire Brigade.

The senior officers said that a recommendation from the inquiry into the Westralia blaze had been the setting up of a more formal agreement between the RAN and fire services.

"The MOU defines the lines of 'command and control' when it comes to fires on ships and on the shore," Commissioner McDougall said.

RADM Smith and Commissioner McDougall said that in the event of a ship fire the commanding officer or officer of the day would be the incident commander.

However if the fire was on the wharf, a senior fire brigade officer would be the controller.

The MOU is binding across NSW.

The NSW Fire Brigades and the RAN have a long association with civilian firefighters exercising on its ships.

"We have firefighters visiting the RAN's fire and ship survivability centre at Jervis Bay and now the Fire Brigade will offer it's Albion Park fire training school to the Navy," Inspector Michael Guymer said.

The backdrop to the formal signing of the MOU could not have been better.

Carried out with HMAS Kanimbla in the background, the Fire Brigade positioned its new "Flying Motor" and "Rescue Tender" and their crews behind the White Ensign and NSW Fire Brigades flags.