CFA cadet camp boosts teen fireys' skills

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Member News image Photo: Nathan Younghusband.

A group of 50 firefighting teens came together for a live fire training and networking camp at the CFA Central Highlands Victorian Emergency Management Training Centre (VEMTC) last weekend.

CFA Cadets from brigades located right across the state travelled to Victoria’s west region to hone their skills.

The three-day training weekend was designed for CFA’s 16 and 17-year-old members to participate in firefighting drills and other up-skilling activities.

It also gave them a great opportunity to network with other members their own age and learn from one another.

CFA Acting Chief Officer Garry Cook and CEO Natalie McDonald met with the cadets on Saturday, 21 May to share words of encouragement and congratulate them on their involvement in the camp, as well as join them in some fire drills.

Kenmare Fire Brigade member Marty Makin, 16, said he decided to get involved in the cadet camp to “meet new people and try something new”.

“The activities at the training centre were unlike anything I’d done before; they were fantastic, and I got a lot out of it,” he said.

“We did live fire training and also breathing apparatus training, fire extinguisher exercises and virtual reality firefighting training which was really valuable for us all.”

Marty said connecting with new people at CFA in his age group was really rewarding.

“My biggest takeaway from the camp was learning about radio and incident communication and how to talk to people during an emergency situation,” he said.

“I would absolutely get involved in something like this again – it was a great opportunity.”