Community
23 July, 2023
Brigade roles for all
CONTRARY to public perception, being a part of your local fire brigade doesn’t mean having to ride on the back of a truck nor operate a hose.
Being a part of your local brigade can open up a world of opportunities – none more so than the satisfaction of being a part of a team that “gives back” to the community.
The Koroit Fire Brigade epitomises everything the association stands for; and now is the perfect time to become a volunteer.
“Being a part of your local brigade gives you the chance to give back to your local community, and that can come about in so many different forms,”
Koroit brigade captain Steve Giblin said. “Over the years there seems to be abit of a pre-conceived idea that by joining a brigade volunteers need to be able to jump on a truck and fight fires; but in fact that’s just one aspect of a brigrade.”
The Koroit brigade currently has around 34 members and a core group of 18 or 19 active members but, ideally, they would love to see this grow to in excess of 30 or 40.
“At the moment two of our key responders are away on holidays, and many of us work full-time, have families and other commitments so our resources can get stretched at times. “It’s not like it was 25 or so years ago where people stayed in the same job for years on end, or even lived in the same street; people move around quite a lot so they (members) come and go.
“We would love to see more females join us also. Like the men, there are many roles they can fill and we will find the perfect fit or anyone who puts their hand up to join.”
Steve believes women bring to community organisations like theirs strong minds and, sometimes, a different skillset.
“We do have some active, strong women in our brigade but I think there’s an un-tapped resource of mums, nans, aunts who have plenty to offer and we would welcome them all to Koroit.”
In between taking the truck out on calls, volunteers at Koroit are kept busy within the community, helping out at various events including the Koroit Irish Festival and the Lions Swap Meet.
“We love being part of this community at Koroit and we’re trying to break that perception of us just sitting around on a hot day waiting for a call out; it’s not a men’s club that’s for sure,” Steve said.
“Sure, we can certainly get very busy in the middle of summer but we also do our bit in the community in various other ways – including running the barbecue at the swap meet and at the Irish festival, and maintaining fire extinguishers and hose reels across the town.”
Like most voluntary organisations, the brigade offers the opportunity to “get back what you put in.” “It’s all about personal choice; you get out of something what you want to put in,” Steve said.
The Koroit Fire Brigade currently meets on the first Tuesday of each month, with training sessions on the third Tuesday and first Sunday of the month.
“We’re like one big extended family; it’s a great organisation to be a part of and we all keep an eye out for each other.”
Anyone interested in finding out more can contact Steve on 0407 052 181.
