'Future leaders of the brigade': why youth are important in the CFA

On International Youth Day 2020, on August 12, the United Nations set the theme: 'Youth Engagement for Global Action', in an effort to highlight the ways in which young people can enrich organisations.

The Country Fire Authority is one of these organisations. By the end of June 2020, the CFA had more than 1500 junior members - part of 162 junior brigades across the state.

In addition, there are more than 4000 CFA members aged between 11 to 24 years old.

One of these young people is Ballarat 16-year-old Liam Wright. Liam grew up with a keen interest in fire trucks and firefighting. When he was 12, his mum discovered the Ballarat Fire Brigade runs a junior program and signed him up.

When Liam joined, he did not know anybody at the brigade but in the almost five years since he has learnt many new skills and made plenty of friends along the way.

The CFA's Junior Volunteer Development Program (JVDP) is for young people aged between 11 and 15 years old.

You might also like: Why volunteering is important to these Ballarat firefighters

While junior members do not respond to emergencies or use equipment, they are taught a variety of valuable skills that could assist them if they decide to join the brigade when they turn 16, or simply to use in life.

These include map reading and how to use a radio, general fire safety awareness and first aid training.

Juniors also participate in firefighting drills and take part in competitions and champions, while they also take to the streets to fundraise for causes such as the Good Friday Appeal.

Through learning all of these practical skills, juniors learn about the importance of teamwork, leadership and effective communication. They are also instilled with values such as community mindedness, respect and mateship.

The highlight of Liam's time with the brigade was when he participated in the Australian Fire Cadet Championships in Sydney last year, which involves juniors from all over the country coming together to take part in a friendly competition.

"From there I got more involved with the CFA and decided I really wanted to become a CFA member," he said.

While Liam has learnt firefighting is a little different to what you see on television, his involvement with the junior program motivated him to complete his minimum skills test when he turned 16 last year, so he could become an operational firefighter.

Liam, whose mum drives him to the station whenever he opts to respond to an incident, loves the role.

"It was a bit scary the first couple of times I went to a job but I got used to it after the first couple of weeks," he said.

He loves it so much that he is aspiring to become a career firefighter when he finishes school.

He encouraged any other young person who wanted to join the junior program to do so.

"Even if you don't want to become a firefighter, you get a lot of skills out of it that will help you in your normal daily life," Liam said.

Ballarat Fire Brigade has been running the junior program for 10 years. Captain Mark Cartledge said during this time, quite a few had decided to join the senior brigade.

"Juniors are the future of the CFA. Those that step up into the senior brigade are the future members and the future leaders of the brigade," he said. "Juniors are very important for the CFA to continue into the future."

Of the three who have recently moved into the senior brigade, Captain Cartledge said they were all very active members and were some of the brigade's top responders.

This is also a credit to their parents, who drive them to the station.

"Whether it is a footy club, cricket club or at the brigade, you need to have parental support behind you to get you to those events and support those activities," he said.

CFA Deputy Chief Officer and Executive Director Volunteers and Capability Peter O'Keefe said International Youth Day was a great opportunity to recognise the dedicated young CFA members across the state.

"It's important to acknowledge our young members and recognise the hard work they put in to give back to their communities," DCO O'Keefe said.

"From operational firefighters and support members to Junior Leaders and Junior Brigade members, CFA has a strong field of young people across the state."

There are a number of junior brigades across the Ballarat region. For more information, visit the CFA website.

If you are seeing this message you are a loyal digital subscriber to The Courier, as we made this story available only to subscribers. Thank you very much for your support and allowing us to continue telling Ballarat's story. We appreciate your support of journalism in our great city.