Cadet ninjas Colleen and Brad Warr, Police Officer Dave Harnett and some of the amazing team of cadets at the Dwellingup Volunteer Bushfire Brigade, June 2020
Bushfire Volunteers representatives visited the Dwellingup Volunteer Bush Fire Brigade during their first Cadet Training catch up since the COVID-19 lockdowns and also had the pleasure of enjoying a wonderful community event supported by Dwellingup Teenz, Dwellingup Bushfire Brigade Cadets and Vergones Fruit Stall.
There was quite a large turn-out for both events, considering the recent climate, and everyone was very excited to get the ball moving and kick off training again. Social distancing guidelines and hygiene practices were adhered to of course, with handwashing stations made available as well as other means to ensure safety.
A variety of interesting points were raised during the meeting, including how PPE for the Bush Fire Cadets is not supplied under the ESL as they aren’t technically active firefighters, even though they assist with ongoing Brigade teamwork. This adds an added time strain on Volunteers, who need to find funding from other places to supply their Cadets with the basic firefighting uniform.
There has also been a delay on the training of 11 eager recruits in Dwellingup, due to a lack flexibility and availability of compulsory training that is held by the Department of Fire and Emergency Services (DFES) for Volunteers. The association’s work to create a flexible training schedule has made it impossible to train these new firefighting recruits before the impending South-West fire season, which is every approaching as we near towards the end of 2020.
The Association would like to say thank you again to our friends and the future leaders at the Dwellingup Volunteer Bushfire Brigade Cadets for letting us come and see all of the hard work you do to keep your community safe.
Keep up the excellent work!
