Brigade’s juniors on fire at states

NAPOLEONS-Enfield Fire Brigade has a bright future ahead, with many enthusiastic and talented young people involved in their junior program.

Sixteen of them competed within four teams at the Country Fire Authority/Volunteer Fire Brigades Victoria State Championships over the weekend in Mooroopna, and the brigade took home both the 11 to 13, and 11 to 15 state age aggregates.

Brigade Captain Paul Hazlett said they fielded the most teams they’ve ever had and saw success in some divisions they haven’t won in decades.

“The 11 to 15s won five events outright, and broke two state records which had been standing for 12 or 14 years, which was a big effort,” he said.

“The 11 to 13 year olds winning the state aggregate was huge because we haven’t won that for more than 30 years, and they also won three events themselves.

“One of our first-year teams won an event and they’d never been to the states before, so it was a great effort all round.”

All five competition categories at the CFA/VFBV Victoria State Championships are based around firefighting or handling of CFA equipment.

“It’s all about your run down. There’s a replica of the back of a truck, there are hoses, you have to pull off the reels, there’s hydrants to hook up, targets to hit in sequence, and there’s ladders involved,” Captain Hazlett said.

“There’s also a sprint, which is a bit of a novelty and a separate category, to see which kids are the quickest at the end of the day in their age groups.”

Captain Hazlett said their aim with the junior program is not just to create a pathway for young people to become adult volunteers, but to establish a fun space where they can thrive.

“We start training in the first week in February, and we train two nights a week, Tuesdays and Thursdays,” he said.

“It’s a perfect way to engage kids with CFA because they can’t do much on the fire ground until they’re 16.

“This brings them into the CFA family, introduces them to the shed, other members, and to the community.”