Ask Mark Cartledge.

The captain has been at three out of four fatal collisions - including the death of a 34-year-old Jan Juc woman at Rokewood and a 24-year-old Mount Clear hairdresser at Bunkers Hill.

"The collisions don't just affect the people in the crash," he said.

"They also affect the public who are first-on-scene, the bystanders, the emergency services, the community.

"One collision can affect thousands of people.

"You may not even know who they are."

Friday marked his eighth anniversary as Ballarat CFA captain - and all up, its been 30 years - but in all that time, he's rarely seen so many serious collision in such a short amount of time.

The Barkly Street station has a specialist road rescue truck - and has become the 'go-to' CFA brigade for car accidents across a wide arc of the region.

"We're really shocked at the amount of collisions we've attended at the moment," Mr Cartledge said.

"We've had 13 in the last month, resulting in four fatalities (at the scene).

"At one stage we had six road rescues in a row.

"That's unusual - and it's not good - because we normally get a mix of jobs."

Mr Cartledge said there had been an increase in road rescues, debris washaways and small crashes over the last four years - despite the pandemic.

He believed it may be linked to metropolitan people unfamiliar with the region taking more holidays in country Victoria.

"We often don't find out where people are from. It's often the police that let us know or we find out through the media," he said.

"Sometimes you never hear back from these people and you wonder what happened to them.

"(Finding out) is closure for us as well.

"We don't go out looking for thanks - we are there to help the community in need - but every now and again you get a thankyou card.

"It's not a million dollars - it's the thought that counts.

"Occasionally you'll also get someone come into the station and say" 'You cut me out of that car'.

"It happened last year when a man reached out to us. He thought it was the SES, but his email reached us eventually.

"It's a nice gesture."

So how do firies cope with the carnage?

"Everyone reacts differently - and I'm speaking for myself - but I'll talk to my wife about what happened. Not the horrible details, of course.

"We're a close brigade - and have been that way for meany years. We can normally gauge if someone is not dealing with a major incident very well."

Mr Cartledge said an internal 27/7 CFA Peer support program was helpful - especially where there had been a fatality or a child involved in an accident.

"It's made up of local CFA members - and there is also a statewide CFA Member Wellbeing program for counselling. It's not just about accidents. It can be for anything - including problems at home and problems with work."

The Ballarat captain is also a volunteer speaker for Amber Community - a not-for-profit road trauma awareness and support service.

But what can friends and family do?

"If a family member or friend has been to a major incident, see if there's any change in their character - for example, being overly quiet or overly loud - or even a change in mannerisms.

"It might even be that someone who is normally active becomes non-active.

"Support them as best you can.

"Some people will talk about it - and sometimes people don't want to talk about it. If they do, just don't ask questions about the ins and outs of what happened.

"Don't focus on the incident. The best question you can ask is 'Are you okay?'"

Mr Cartledge said it was vital to be there for someone when they needed help - and perhaps invite them for a coffee, meal or walk.

"Be that shoulder to support them."

He also said members of the public needed to look out for each other.

"I've been following that case of the first-on-scene (Helina Gordon) at Bunkers Hill on Monday.

'That's really impacted her.

"Then you look at the girl who died (Alex Baines) and how its impacted her friends as well.

"Sometimes the bystanders are as affected as the emergency services.

"It impacted me too."

After Thursday's Rokewood fatality, Mr Cartledge said CFA volunteers spent the trip home debriefing.

"We talk about what we did.

"We also talk about why we do it."

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.