FUN AND GAMES: Rural fire service members (front) Renae Schmich, Matthew Eyles and (back) Drew Beuzeville play with the hoses at the open day on Saturday. Photo: JUDE KEOGH 0921rfs5
THE Rural Fire Service (RFS) want you.
It’s a dirty job, a hard job, but Clifton Grove brigade member Ian Wotton says it is worth it.
“When you get in the truck to go out to a fire you get the adrenaline rush, the excitement,” he said.
“You’re doing a community service.”
But it is not all sweat and flames. The training qualifications RFS members receive for free are countless.
A volunteer can rack up thousands of dollars in training that is transferable to the workforce.
Training ranges from first aid certificates to chainsaw operating and truck driving, which also increase the chances of getting a job.
The RFS held their annual open day on Saturday.
It’s a recruitment drive as well as a chance for the kids to jump in a fire truck.
Brigade president Geoff Selwood said the service was never understaffed. He said the trick was to have enough members on the call list so everybody could still enjoy their life outside firefighting.
“We always fill three out of four trucks but you know people have jobs,” he said.
“We’d really like to share it around a bit.”
If there was ever a time not enough volunteers were available, others could be called on from surrounding districts.
“It’s a case of bring in the calvary,”Mr Selwood said.
Mr Selwood said anybody can sign up to have a go. He said one member of the Clifton Grove brigade can’t fight fires. He is an asthmatic.
“He still gets in and drives the truck,” he said.
Mr Selwood said there was a job for anybody who could handle getting down and dirty.
“Most people come here and say they want to join and we never hear from them again,” he said.
“They don’t realise how dirty it can be, you get covered in dirt and smoke.”
nicole.kuter@ruralpress.com