VolunteeringThe Portarlington CFA is completely run by local volunteers on a 24/7 basis to provide protection for the community. It is vital that the brigade recruits new members every year to maintain adequate membership and provide better protection for the township. If you want to give back to the community, Why not come done to the station and see what the CFA is all about?
What does it mean to be a FirefighterAll new members serve an induction period of six months, during this time if you choose to become an operational fire fighter you will need to complete the Minimum Skills Wildfire and Low Structure Courses, these cover:
Upon completion of your 6 months probationary training plus successful completion of Minimum Skills Wildfire and Low Structure you will be issued with your own set of PPC (Personal Protective Clothing) and a brigade pager that will alert you to incidents that include:
Minimum skills and Low Structure are the basic levels of training. After you have gained some experience at incidents and fires there is also further training opportunities such as:
Emergencies can happen at any time of the day or night. As a member of the brigade you are only required to attend the calls that you can make it to. We understand that work and family take priority over firefighting, and you will find that only around 40% of the brigade attend an average call because we have all have lives to live.
Other Vital Volunteer PositionsTo be a member of the Portarlington CFA you don't have to actually be a Fire Fighter to contribute as there is plenty of roles available. The CFA has a strong community focus and maintains a high level of activity in education as well as prevention. Brigade members can participate in a wide range of public relations, educations and information activities. The types of activities that non-operational members undertake are:
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