New kit for Inverleigh’s firefighters

INVERLEIGH’S CFA brigade is set to receive a range of much-needed equipment following a donation by the Winchelsea Bendigo Community Bank.

At around $3000, the funds will go towards various recovery kits and rescue tools, which brigade Captain Andrew Collins said the team are delighted to receive.

“We’re not a big brigade, and we’ve got to fund certain bits and pieces by ourselves,” he said.

“We don’t earn a lot of money, so we’ll take advantage of whatever grants or handouts we can get. It’s certainly going to a good cause.”

Captain Collins said the equipment would be used on emergences including road crashes and house fires.

“We hope we won’t have to use it, but it’s guaranteed we will,” he said.

The equipment will include two recovery kits, ground lights for marking road hazards, a Halligan tool used for opening doors, as well as a car entry kit, and rescue hook.

Despite the range of new equipment, Captain Collins said that with 22 active firefighters, the brigade is also “desperate” for new volunteers.

“You’ve got your regulars that come out at the drop of a hat every single time but then a lot of these people have to go off to Melbourne and Geelong and those sorts of places,” he said.

“So, they’re not around from those busier periods of time between 7.30am to 4pm.”

Captain Collins said he hopes to gain recruits with the arrival of new residents moving to the area.

“As much as it’s possibly going to increase our workflow with the influx of houses in Inverleigh, we’re looking forward to it because we may get new members joining as a result.”

The new equipment appears to be just the start for the Inverleigh Brigade’s expansion.

They are also preparing to relocate to a larger station, and plans are underway to raise funds to replace a fire truck approaching the end of its life cycle.

Captain Collins said that while these changes won’t occur overnight, the team looks to be “getting bigger and better for the future.”

“For a little brigade, we hold our own,” he said.