But out of public view, changes are beginning to happen - for example, at integrated stations, with a mix of career and volunteer firefighters, the CFA volunteers will need to elect a captain.

Sturt Street's stalwart Ballarat City Fire Brigade elected its first captain in 70 years last week, ahead of the legislated change occuring on July 1.

READ MORE: Encouraging female leadership in the CFA

Current brigade secretary Nicole McGrath, a 22-year veteran volunteer, put her hand up, and was selected by her peers to lead the volunteers.

"Never in million years did I think I would be putting my hand up to run as captain of a CFA brigade," she said.

"It means a lot to me, and the pressure coming forward can't be underestimated - but I'm really looking forward to the challenge, and I think I can do it.

"It will be my role to oversee the functioning of the volunteer brigade, all aspects from operations to HR to fundraising, compliance with CFA policy and procedure - I'll also be required to represent the brigade in various forums."

Ms McGrath is also the first female captain in the Eureka Group's history, which takes in all Ballarat brigades.

Taking on the role of brigade captain is a big responsibility, according to Ballarat City's officer-in-charge Anthony Pearce.

"There's quite an amount of legislative power that comes with that," he said.

"We certainly don't take it lightly that the brigade has elected a captain - some people might say it's just appointing another person and giving them a title, but it's not, a captain of a fire brigade is incredibly important."

Ms McGrath joined the brigade in 1998, after moving to Ballarat.

"My father has an emergency services background, but not within fire services, and I grew up in Geelong West, which had a significant community engagement with the local brigade," she said.

"For me it's about the connections we have here at the brigade, there's some strong friendships within the brigade, and for me that's the standout part.

"I'd love to see Ballarat City cement its place within the Ballarat community, I think for a while we stepped back into the shadows a little, and to see us step forward, take ownership, and provide a response to the community, I think, would be really important for us."

The organisational reshuffle will not affect frontline services, she added.

"A collaborative approach is always going to be better than singular," she said.

"Going forward I don't see significant issues for us."

Commander Pearce agreed, and said it was an opportunity for the volunteers in the brigade.

"In time we'll be looking to support the brigade to continue to boost recruitment and build some numbers," he said.

"A lot of the focus is put onto (career firefighters) because they have to, they need to be available to do the job, so they need the resources to fight the fires and respond to emergencies.

"Our brigade here will have a great opportunity to be looked after solely by CFA, and build up their capability."

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