CFA has planned a wide range of activities and events to celebrate our members’ achievements during National Volunteer Week (9-15 May).
Volunteers comprise 96% of CFA’s workforce, with 55,000 people from across the state and all walks of life giving their time to serve the community. CFA is one of the world’s largest volunteer organisations.
Chief Officer Joe Buffone expressed his appreciation to all CFA volunteer members.
“Travelling around the state, visiting brigades and seeing them at work I’ve witnessed the spirit, skills and camaraderie of our people first hand.
“Everyone at CFA should be proud of who we are and what we do.”
CFA CEO Lucinda Nolan added, “CFA Volunteers are part of the fabric of our communities.”
“Volunteers are the backbone of CFA, in small country towns and outer suburbia, as well as in CFA’s highly trained specialist units.”
“National Volunteer Week gives us time to pause and reflect on the work of our volunteers, now and through history.”
“Thank you for your time, your commitment and for keeping our communities safe.”
This year CFA will be saying “thank you” to volunteers with tours of the State Control Centre, special offers through Memberlink, a variety of local activities and the launch of a new coffee table book, Community – the essence of CFA, which will be sent to each district and made available online.
You can find out more about volunteering with CFA at www.cfa.vic.gov.au/volunteer
Volunteer stories
In the lead up to Volunteer Week, we asked our volunteers to remember their first call-outs', and to tell us about any particularly memorable ones. Read some of those stories via hte links below:
Dodgy bloke caught on hop by first-time firey
Brady Dunne: 'You couldn't see the ground below you'
Welcome to the CFA: three hour truck fire
Rod Barford: Why didn't I do this 20 years ago?
Smoke and flames, all before school
First fire call turns into 22-hour school day
Went in green, came out very black indeed
CFA snapshot:
• More than 60 per cent of Melbourne’s Metropolitan area is covered by CFA, including some of Victoria’s fastest-growing suburbs.
• CFA volunteer and career staff respond to emergency incidents 24-hours a day, serving communities by responding to fires, motor vehicle accidents, high angle rescues, trench and mine rescues, hazardous materials incidents and flood assistance.
• Only 16% of the incidents our members attend are bush or grassfires.
• Between June 2014 and June 2015, CFA responded to two times more car crashes and rescues (5,641) than bushfires ( 2,095).
• CFA’ members are being trained in Emergency Medical Response (EMR) to support paramedics. EMR call-outs have increased 80% since 2009.
Author: CFA Media