RECENT departures from the Coonamble Town Brigade of NSW Fire & Rescue has left the crew at almost critical staffing levels.
With the fire season approaching, Station Commander Andrew Morley says that to remain operational the station needs to be able to guarantee that they will have six trained members available “24 hours, seven days, three hundred and sixty five days a year.”
“Full strength for us would be 15 members,” said Mr Morley.
“Unfortunately we haven’t had that number for about ten years.”
“We built up to about 13 retained firefighters but we’ve had members relocate from the area due to university, work or personal reasons.”
“We currently have nine people available.”
This means that the firefighters are stretched trying to make sure that the 24 hour on-call roster is full.
The longest-serving member at present is Tony Zumbo.
“He’s been with the brigade for 32 years,” said Mr Morley.
“But Tony is in the process of transferring to Dubbo.”
Recruiting will start soon for new members.
“It’s easier on everyone if there’s many people doing a bit than a few doing a lot,” says Mr Morley.
“It’s not as big a commitment as many people think,” he said.
“If we’ve got a full contingent, we’ve got flexibility and everyone can breathe a bit easier.”
The Coonamble Brigade averages between 150 to 200 call-outs each year.
“We’re not an overly busy station,” says Mr Morley.
“No one is on call all the time,” he said.
“You can nominate your availability and when you’re not available.”
Apart from Mr Morley, who has 28 years’ experience, the remainder of the crew has been serving for less than five years.
One of the newest recruits is Bradley King, who completed his training less than 12 months ago.
Brad clearly enjoys the role and says there are many benefits to being involved.
“We’ve got a good crew here,” he says.
“Everyone gets in and helps each other out.”
“You also learn some good skills. For instance I’ve had to use my First Aid at other times.”
Bradley is currently undertaking his Medium Rigid vehicle licence, which he says will be useful for his employment at Swannys Foods.
“There’s lot of training that our members can do that makes them more employable, or saves money for their employers,” says Mr Morley.
“Things like working safely at heights and in confined spaces, as well as things like chemical handling and work health and safety.”
Joining NSW Fire & Rescue is much like having a part-time job.
The organisation provides all the training and all the costs associated with getting trained.
“You just have to have a driver’s licence, and you need to pass a medical and a physical aptitude test,” said Mr Morley.
“The Phase 1 training teaches you safety skills and basic firefighting techniques like how to use the equipment correctly,” says Bradley.
“Then you can attend fires straight away.”
“Phase two is hazardous materials, senior first aid and basic life support,” he said.
“After that you train at the station. You just attend an average of two drills a month overa 12 month period.”
“To join you have to commit to being available 24 hours out of a week,” said Mr Morley.
“It doesn’t have to be all at once. You just think of it as a part-time job. The pay’s not bad either.”
If the local brigade can’t recruit enough local firefighters, they may need to ask for members of other brigades to be on call for Coonamble’s emergencies.
“It’s hard to have people sitting around here to protect our community when they really signed up to protect their own,” says Mr Morley.
The Coonamble brigade are both fire and rescue.
Around twelve months ago they took delivery of a new rescue truck, fitted out with hydraulic cutters and spreaders otherwise known as ‘the jaws of life’.
The crew also have a new set of state of the art helmets with fully integrated communications.
The Fire Station is clean and orderly.
Andrew Morley says their average turn-out time is 7 minutes.
That’s an impressive response time from when the crew receive the phone call to when the trucks are rolling out the door.
Coonamble’s fire-fighters can be invited to join taskforces which means travelling out of the district during or after major events.
Local members attended to assist with the Coonabarabran fires, Gilgandra’s main street fire in 2009 and the Sydney hailstorm damage.
Recently they were called to Lightning Ridge for the newsagency fire.
“There’s a great camaraderie,” says Mr Morley.
“Wherever you go you run into firies.”
“It’s like being one big family.”
The local crew see many benefits to being involved.
William Tandy has been involved for two years as a tanker driver and is in the process of completing his Primary Rescue Certificate.
“I enjoy it and I’m helping the community out,” says Mr Tandy.
The Coonamble Brigade are relying on the success of their coming recruitment drive to take the strain off the current members.
“When you haven’t got enough people it puts a bigger load on those you have,” Mr Morley said.
“Eventually you burn people out.”
The call is out for new members to join Coonamble Fire & Rescue.
If not enough people come forward, the question may well be who will you call in an emergency.
