District 24 Wodonga operations manager Adrian Gutsche was speaking after legislation dividing CFA volunteers from professional firefighters passed the Victorian parliament late on Thursday.

The vote means permanently manned stations at Wodonga and Wangaratta will come under the banner of a new organisation, Fire Services Victoria, which will employ career firefighters.

The CFA will be purely a volunteer-based service.

The Victorian Labor government's push for a new structure had been strongly opposed by the Coalition Opposition and Volunteer Fire Brigades Victoria, which represents unpaid firefighters.

They argued it would undermine the culture of the CFA and was being done to advantage fire industry unionism.

Member for Ovens Valley Tim McCurdy described the success of the bill as "a dark day for our CFA volunteers" and attacked Labor's North East representative MP Jaclyn Symes.

"By voting for this bill Jaclyn Symes has sold out local volunteers and our community for a sweetheart pay back deal that destroys the CFA and delivers control of it to the union," Mr McCurdy said.

Ms Symes did not respond to The Border Mail, but Emergency Services Minister Lisa Neville said the legislation fulfilled an election promise "to reform our fire services and ensure our career and volunteer firefighters are supported in keeping the community safe".

Mr Gutsche said the changes would not take effect until mid next year.

"Staff at some stage will be transferred to Fire Services Victoria and there will be changes at Wodonga, but they should be cosmetic more than anything," he said.

"At the moment we don't know the nitty gritty as far as day-to-day operations, but I know the CFA is committed to the service we currently do."

Member for Benambra Bill Tilley and Wangaratta Upper House MP Tania Maxwell, who are both CFA volunteers, voted against the legislation and raised concerns that unpaid firefighters were leaving the service.

Mr Gutsche said that contradicted his experience.

"In District 24 which stretches from the other side of Corryong to Rutherglen to Falls Creek we have just over 5000 volunteers and that's increased in the past 12 months that I've been ops manager," he said.

"Off the top of my head, it would have gone up by a couple of hundred."

Ms Maxwell told parliament "we have seen an exodus of around 3500 volunteers" since changes were proposed, while Mr Tilley said there was "6000 volunteers lost to the CFA in the past 18 months".

Mr Tilley was concerned at the impact the split in fire services would have at the grassroots in terms of government investment.

"They can't afford to ignore what is an ageing fleet of firefighting equipment that volunteers are already screaming about," he said.

"Nor can they afford to ignore the ongoing training of volunteers.

"There are people who believe this will be business as usual.

"I hope they are right but the proof will be in the dollars spent, support and respect the CFA receives in the wake of this new firefighting organisation."

Ms Maxwell said there remained much uncertainty about how the new model would work, with particular concern that volunteers receive the same protections as professionals in relation to exposure fallout.

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