Sean Cunningham, Narrandera Argus
The Gillenbah Rural Fire Service recently celebrated a major win as five new recruits officially joined the ranks after successfully completing their final Bush Fire Fighting assessments.
Involved in firefighting for 30 years, Brett Hocking, who has been the Gillenbah RFS captain for the past three years, said the new recruits all hail from Gillenbah.
They are Niesha Whiteman, Benjamin McIntosh, Michael Honour, Dylan Morgan and Courtney Cook.
Ben and Niesha have been involved in the junior programs since they were 12 years old.
Training, which is conducted over a couple of months, covered all the basics from how to draught water from a dam or the town’s reticulated supply (main water lines), to pump operation and crew protection under extreme fire conditions.
“It’s fairly involved with things like how to use a pump, it’s not high-level knowledge, it’s basic firefighting aspects, with emergency drills and crew protection like water going over the vehicle and positioning yourself in the vehicle so you’re not subject to heat and stress,” Captain Hocking said.
“There’s a big focus on the safety aspects of firefighting.”
“We go through the whole package of basic firefighting and when we feel they’re competent enough we get an assessor in (Ross from Yanco).”
“This is the first step for them, it’s the start of their firefighting careers and they can progress in whichever way they like to specialise in being a driver or a chainsaw operator, or other aspects of firefighting, it’s totally up to them.”
The Gillenbah RFS has between 25 to 30 members at present, a strong showing for a small country locale, but with work and family always taking priority, the brigade relies on a healthy rotation of volunteers to stay ready.
Captain Hocking said more recruits would be welcomed.
“We’ve got a real brigade and we’re proud of these guys servicing the community, but we’re also a very social-focused brigade, really concentrating on family aspects,” he said.
“The idea is we get as many recruits as we can because it’s an ever-revolving process with people moving on or leaving.”
“We should have enough to fill any gaps with people who can’t respond due to family commitments because family and work comes first.”
“Without volunteers, we’d really struggle.”
The brigade puts just as much emphasis on social connection and family involvement, often becoming involved in events that bring the whole town together.
The recent Easter Rod Run event helped boost the RFS funds to help buy much-needed equipment.
“Between the raffle the Rodders done for us this year and our own raffle, we raised about $1000,” Captain Hocking said.
“That gets used for additional equipment to make our jobs easier and to improve safety.”
“We’ve bought things such as hose washers because the hoses get muddy or sooty and the hose washer minimises our time and makes life easier.”
The new recruits arrive just in time for the cooler months when hazard reduction burns ramp up in preparation for the next fire season and are united by a common goal – to give back to their community and be ready when the siren sounds.
With hotter and longer fire seasons becoming the norm, fresh hands on deck could be more crucial than ever.
This article appeared in Narrandera Argus, 8 May 2025.
