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Kangaroo Flat member Sarah Swayn (left)
Through friendly conversations with community members, Kangaroo Flat Fire Brigade has seen an injection of 12 new young and diverse recruits in the last twelve months.
You would not be mistaken if you thought you had heard the words Give Us a Hand around Kangaroo Flat recently, as the local brigade were presented with a special assignment.
An initiative led by Captain James O’Brien saw him simply task his members to engage with their friends, colleagues and broader networks.
“We did a targeted recruitment campaign, and at the beginning I asked all my officers and members to recall people they know who have once asked them about CFA before,” James said.
“They might have had a cousin or a friend’s husband who has casually queried them, wondering what it is like to join CFA, or what they enjoy most about driving the truck.
“Having already expressed passive interest in the past, I wanted them to revisit those engagements to encourage them to action those thoughts and sign up.”
Since then, an impressive 12 people have registered to become brigade members, with eight of them currently enrolled in CFA’s General Firefighter Course to become operational.
“I’m really proud to see so many new faces in the brigade, particularly because it’s probably the most diverse we’ve been as a group, so I’m really pleased,” James said.
“One member is a teacher from my children’s school, and he also happens to be a lecturer at Latrobe University. He brought two international students with him over from the uni, one is a refugee from Burma and the other is of African descent.
“Further to this, 50 per cent of our recruit intake are women – so it’s great to get a whole range of different perspectives, ideologies, and background experiences in our team.
“We’re really excited about the future of our brigade, and for those looking for help, I encourage them to casually engage with acquaintances beyond their circles and ask the question.”
25-year-old local solicitor, Sarah Swayn who became operational last September, has already turned out over 120 times with the Strathfieldsaye and Kangaroo Flat Fire Brigade’s.
“I think I’ve been averaging about one call-out every two days, which is a lot on top of full-time work, but it keeps me very stimulated,” Sarah said.
“It is a challenge to balance it all, but I’m very lucky with my work that I’m able to work from home and I am allowed to turn out during work hours when I don’t have appointments on. I also get some emergency services leave on top of that.
Having her partner so heavily involved in CFA opened Sarah’s eyes to what role she could play helping the community.
“I love trying to encourage other women to step up into volunteering and letting them know that door is open. We’ve recently had a number of new women sign up which has been fantastic.”
If you’re interested in joining CFA or learning more about volunteering, head to www.cfa.vic.gov.au/volunteer to give us a hand.