Help make a difference in the northern suburbs

THE hard-working Corio Fire Brigade team is on the lookout for new operational members to join up as soon as possible.

Brigade captain Ben Lane said it takes approximately six months or less to acquire a General Firefighter certification, placing new volunteers in a good position to be qualified by the summer season if they apply now.

“We don’t usually go as hard as we are now to recruit new volunteers, but we really want to put in a lot of effort and get some good numbers this year,” Mr Lane said.

“We’re looking for community minded people, which is at the heart of what we do here at the Country Fire Authority (CFA), we also need people with general availability and flexible numbers.

“We don’t have a particular number on how many volunteers we’d like to join up, we just know we need more of them.”

The brigade, located at 20 Birdwood Ave in Norlane, currently has 14 operational members and covers a wide variety of callouts in the Greater Geelong area, predominantly the northern suburbs including Corio, North Geelong, Norlane and North Shore.

Mr Lane listed brigade members will turn out to jobs such grassfires, structure fires, traffic fires, hazmat incidents, people trapped in cars and community visits as well.

Brigade first lieutenant Jordan Grossman said ideal volunteers are happy to help other people in need.

“Professionalism is very important of course, but by that same measure, we’re a pretty social bunch so we’d love people who love to get involved and participate in the work done behind the scenes,” Mr Grossman said.

“The crew we have right now is great, I love how easy it is to get along with everyone when we do get together. It gives us a chance to build camaraderie.”

To find out more on the Corio Fire Brigade, contact the unit through social media or by apply to be a volunteer at cfa.vic.gov.au/volunteers-careers/volunteer-with-cfa.