The Charters Towers Rural Fire Brigade is seeking new volunteer members to join the local unit as the upcoming fire season approaches.
The local team, which is made up of over 10 volunteers, met at its headquarters in Charters Towers last weekend in its first post-pandemic meet to discuss how to get more hands on deck to assist.
First officer Tate van Wel said time was a major factor in recruitment, especially amongst the younger generations.
"Time is a precious commodity," he said.
"Young people are busy establishing themselves in a career, with hobbies and while you're young you want to do everything.
"I think a sense of community, that's where small towns can lack a bit, is not giving back into the community."
Mr van Wel said volunteering roles were open to everyone and anyone who was eligible.
"Obviously being a leg of a government body, there are checks you need to do," he said.
"But if you're physically fit and able you can become a firefighter volunteer.
"Otherwise there are support roles you can take on such as more office type jobs."
As the upcoming bushfire season approaches, Mr van Wel said training would be paramount to ensure all volunteer skills were up to scratch.
"When you're in a fire, you can be out there at 12 o'clock at night, pitch black and stumbling around someone's paddock," he said.
"You need to know how to operate these appliances and that's where our training is repetitive and in short bursts.
"We meet once a fortnight for a couple of hours and do 20-minute intervals of radios, and then we'll go out and draft water, use the pump, run the lights and check the trucks.
"It's making sure everyone knows, hey if you grab this hose, you know exactly what locker it's in, where to go, how to connect it and how to get it started."
Mr van Wel said the skills gained from volunteer work were incomparable.
"You're not getting paid for it, so what are you getting out of it? You're bettering yourself, you're bettering your communication skills and working together," he said.
"You have to deal with all types of people, which can be tricky, but you build upon that and I think there is so much that can be taken out of volunteer work apart from the fact that you're helping out."
Rural Fire Service north west area director Shane Hopton said recruiting new members into the fold was difficult due to the wide landscape of different volunteer organisations.
"The Rural Fire Service is not made up of a lot of young members," he said.
"A lot of our volunteers are later on in life, so they have the time to volunteer.
"We are ageing and it is complex at the moment because volunteering is so big with different organisations, we're competing with other volunteer organisations to get people onboard.
"It's hard to attract new members, but when we do, we try to keep them with us."
Mr Hopton said the importance of employers understanding the support of volunteer firefighters was also vital.
"I use the terminology that these guys are unpaid professionals," he said.
"Even though some of them might not have a formal training, they've been on the land for a number of years and have that background.
"Compared to fire and rescue where they're normally on station and can go within three minutes, normally these guys within 20 minutes they're rolling out the door.
"Being mindful a lot of these guys still do work, so they leave their workplace, and I think that plays a major role in being able to provide the support we do, is by those employers understanding the importance of the Rural Fire Service and the volunteers."
Charters Towers Rural Fire Brigade secretary Janette Archibald said she recently attended the inaugural volunteering North Queensland conference held in Townsville where the attraction of new members was a vital takeaway.
"Communities rely on rural fire brigades, which are made up totally of volunteers," she said.
"One of the takeaways for me was that most volunteer organisations are having difficulty attracting new members, especially post-COVID.
"We must tell our story if our organisations are to survive and thrive."
Zoe Thomas
Northern based journalist at North Queensland Register and Queensland Country Life.
Northern based journalist at North Queensland Register and Queensland Country Life.
