Behind every good firefighter is a good support team, and the newly-formed District 23 Headquarters Brigade hopes to make a difference during major fires this summer.
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Based out of the headquarters in Wangaratta’s Ely Street, this is not the brigade to go rushing out with fire hoses when an emergency occurs.
District 23 volunteerism co-ordinator Mick Daws said the group would fill a void that occurs at headquarters during a major fire, when staff are pulled away from normal duties and there is often no one left to even answer the phone.
“That meant our day-today business stalled and our customer service stalled,” he said.
“It’s the time when the public want access to information, they want to know.”
The brigade would also be responsible for organising equipment such as excavators for the firefight, or food and water for those on the front line.
A similar brigade already exists in Wodonga out of the District 24 Headquarters.
The brigade has brought former Wangaratta police Senior Sergeant Shane Downie back to the emergency services after an eight-year break.
He will use his experience to lead the team as brigade captain.
“I enjoy emergency management, I enjoy that side of things,” Mr Downie told The Border Mail.
“I’m now working within one of those organisations that I used to use in my police role.”
Even Mr Downie’s initial life after police as the Painters Island Caravan Park manager ended up as an emergency management role, with the park becoming seriously flooded multiple times during major rain events in Wangaratta.
Uniquely for the district, the brigade’s three lieutenants are all women and the CFA is proud of that fact.
They each have responsibility for separate portfolios of information technology, networking and community safety.
“We’re trying to diversify that in the CFA,” Mr Daws said.
The brigade currently has 13 members, aged from early 20s to the elderly, with a range of different office and logistics skills.
“We’ll continue to look for new members,” Mr Daws said.
“We’re hoping their skills can be used back in their local brigades as well.”
He urged anyone who had considered becoming a CFA volunteer, but did not want to fight fires on the front line, to consider joining the new brigade.
The team will report to operations officer Paul Horton, who started the process of building the brigade back in January, before it was eventually approved in September.
He said another role of the volunteers would be to help co-ordinate brigades and the community around safety and fire preparation.
“We wanted to give back as much as we take,” he said.
