A VOLUNTEER recruitment campaign by the CFA is underway and aims to increase member numbers in regional areas for both firefighting and support roles.<\/p>\n
Kim Marini the manager of volunteer sustainability for the northwest Victoria region of the CFA, which includes the Greater Bendigo Region, said there were plenty of positions to fill.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere’s a range of roles from operational, which is the firefighting side of things to support roles,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese include community safety roles, administrative roles as well as radio officer operators and comms positions.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ms Marini said there is something for everyone at the CFA no matter their working situation and volunteers are important to the organisation\u2019s ability to help the community.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt’s very diverse the people that get involved,\u201d she said. \u201cWhether they’ve got short periods of time to spare or whether they’ve got lots of time on their hands.<\/p>\n
\u201cVolunteers are our lifeblood. All our CFA brigades are now made up of volunteer members. Without them, we don’t have the on-the-ground support to help and protect the community.\u201d<\/p>\n
This was a sentiment shared by Heathcote CFA volunteer firefighter Peter Duncan who said members had to be prepared at any moment for a call-out.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhenever the pager goes off, we’re relying upon local volunteers to drop what they’re doing,\u201d he said. \u201cWhether they’re working, at their own business, retired or shift workers.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr Duncan said the CFA could be called upon to help in several different situations.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have between about 80 and 120 jobs a year,\u201d he said. \u201cSome of those are serious and take a couple of days, some are false alarms, but you’ve still got to leave what you’re doing and get to the station.<\/p>\n
\u201cAround here it’s mostly grass fires, it’s open country with grass fires running with the wind. We also get structure fires or house fires, which thankfully are rare.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe’re directly wired into the hospital, if the smoke alarms go off there, we get called immediately.\u201d<\/p>\n
Being a CFA volunteer is a very rewarding experience said Mr Duncan, on a couple of different levels.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou get an enormous amount out of it,\u201d he said. \u201cThere are the superficial things like training, so you get to increase your skills.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut the bigger and better part is obviously being part of the community and helping others.\u201d<\/p>\n