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CFA members put through their paces at Fiskville Cup 50th anniversary
The Fiskville Cup, a friendly round robin competition, is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year.
The competition began back in 1974 and is all about getting CFA members from the nine brigades in the Ballan Group trained and prepared for the summer season.
The Cup was held on Sunday 15 October and the Ballan brigade won.
The responsibility for hosting the day rotates between the nine brigades and this year it will be held at the Central Highlands Victorian Emergency Management Training Centre (VEMTC) in Ballan.
CFA Chief Officer Jason Heffernan said the variety of drills and skills needed to complete the tasks relates directly to what brigade members would experience on the fireground.
“This includes hot fire training, extinguishing bin fires, house fires, a fire that burns over a truck or vehicle and filling up tankers and pumping water.”
“This event gives brigades the opportunity to get together before fire season and focus on developing their skills.
“But it also showcases the camaraderie and community spirit at the centre of CFA and its members.”
There is usually a good mix of levels and experience at the Fiskville Cup including people just completing General Firefighting training, CFA members looking to become crew leaders and those hoping to get more experience.
Ballan Group Training Coordinator Billy Smith has been coordinating the Fiskville Cup for the past 12 years.
He says the reason he continues to be involved is because it’s great to help the community out and help members by training them up to the best of their ability.
“We don’t give out scores we just give out placings. The brigades that finish down the lower end the year before is usually at the top the next year.”
“We have a big lunch at the end and it’s a really good social outing and opportunity for brigades to catch up before the fire season kicks off.”
The teams are made up from the Blackwood, Greendale, Ballan, Mt Wallace, Morrisons, Gordon, Mt Egerton, Millbrook and Wallace Fire Brigades.
The teams will respond to predetermined pager messages to multiple drills taking place throughout the area.