MEMBERSHIP FAQ

How can I join?
What would I have to do if I join?
What is the work like?
How else can I contribute?
What other Training Opportunities are there?


What do I have to do to become a member of Stoney Creek?

There are lots of reasons why people think about joining a volunteer fire brigade such as:

There are some important preliminary steps but they are not difficult:

What would I have to do once I am a member?

  1. Be available to respond to incidents:
    This is the whole point of joining a volunteer fire brigade. The organisation only works because good people are prepared to give up some of their time and energy to help others. The more you attend, the more you learn and the more useful you can be. We are all volunteers so that also means we do what we can and balance what we do with the Brigade with our work and home lives. What this means is, if there is a call out and you can at all go, you should go - if you really can't then you don't.
  2. Attend Training once a month:
    Stoney Creek conducts a monthly, half-day training session on the first Sunday of each month. This is designed to help us all stay current on all the techniques and equipment. After all, we are volunteers and we do not use these every day like the professional fire fighters so we all need regular reminding.
  3. Attend a Meeting once a month:
    Obviously a Brigade cannot function without some behind the scenes organising and work - it is not all fighting fires! Many of the necessary operational, training and administrative matters are covered during a meeting once a month. These meetings are held on the first Thursday of each month at our fire shed starting at 7:00. Sometimes the date is adjusted a little when it gets in the way of other major events on the calendar. The meetings generally only go for an hour and are usually preceded by an hour long training session from 7pm.
  4. Help out with Radio Checks:
    Stoney Creek is divided up into 3 or 4 "crews" for administrative purposes and to help share the workload. One of these tasks is the weekly radio check that Firecom carries out with all Brigades at 9am on Sunday mornings. Each crew is rostered on for a month of Sunday radio checks. It only takes about 1/2 an hour to start up each of the trucks and pumps and check the radios are working so everything is ready to respond in a hurry when we are needed.
  5. Help out with other activities
    Sometimes we really need help with other activities such as working bees around the shed, fund raising or committee positions.
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Is it hard? Won't I be too young/too old? I don't know anything about fire fighting!

It is true that the work can be hard and dirty but you will only ever be expected to do whatever you are able to manage.

The Rural Fire Service is made up of volunteers from all walks of life - men and women from different cultural backgrounds, age groups and professions. Stoney Creek Brigade is no different. We have a very wide age range including very many older and retired people. You do need to be a minimum of 16 years old.

The training is comprehensive and you will be taught all you need to know before you are allowed to get on the trucks to attend an incident.

Look here for more information regarding volunteering.

I'd like to volunteer but I'm not able to or don't want to attend fires/incidents. Are there other ways for me to contribute?

Absolutely! Even our active members are sometimes unable to take part in actual incident responses and so there are other ways you can take part. Brigades often have support members who are able to help tired crews returning from incidents (there is always plenty to do: hanging up hoses for drying, rolling hoses, restocking the trucks) or staffing the fire shed during busy times.

We are also always looking for people to help out on the management committees and for fund raising activities.

Another option is to consider joining the zone Operational Support Group (OSG) who primarily work out of the Lake George Fire Control Centre in Queanbeyan. OSG help run the emergency communications centre and assist organising logistical support during major incidents.

What other training opportunities are there?

At your initial Bushfire Fighter (BF) course, you will learn the major equipment on the trucks and how to work safely on the fireground as part of a larger team. If this is all you want to do, that's fine although obviously there are many more training courses open to you if you wish (and once you have some experience under your belt). Below are some of the additional courses available. These are covered in more detail at the NSW RFS website. It should also be noted that there may be some pre-requisites for some of these courses (i.e. you have to do course A before course B):

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 © Stoney Creek Rural Fire Brigade
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