‘Step Up’ and serve

The Leader has partnered with The Northern Barossa CFS Group on its Step Up, Stand Out campaign, and will run a series of behind the scenes stories over the coming weeks.

For over 60 years, The Northern Barossa CFS Group has relied on community members to ‘Step Up’ and join its ranks to serve the local community and now The Northern Barossa CFS Group brigades are opening the doors to the fire station by embarking on a new campaign.

 It’s hoped the campaign, to increase community awareness of the CFS and how it operates behind the scenes, will also spark interest with a potential new crop of team members.

The ‘Step Up, Stand Out’ initiative will give the community insight into the many opportunities provided to potential recruits and show how the CFS can be a lifelong journey for some, where participants receive as much as they give back.

The Northern Barossa Group (known as NBAG) which incorporates; Angaston, Nuriootpa, Tanunda and Truro stations, collectively responds to incidents every week in the local community. 

“Each call for assistance generally involves a two brigade response due to a requirement of two appliances to most calls,” said CFS Deputy Group Officer within NBAG, Sam Koerner. 

“We feel that showing how all the brigades in the NBAG, and even surrounding groups’ brigades work together frequently to support each other, is only fitting to recruit in a way that emphasises this bigger picture.

“Giving what time you can commit to the CFS can be extremely rewarding,” continued Sam.

“There are acute benefits like making new friends, teamwork, improving your communication skills by working with a large diversity of people in varying situations, learning new nationally accredited skills, helping people in need etc!

“There are then longer-term aspects which often help our members gain employment in other fields, grow into leadership positions which can also benefit them in their outside lives.

“Members also get the opportunity to travel interstate and at times internationally to assist with emergencies at times. There are many attributes that pollinate from CFS life into your personal life.”

Sam also highlighted that time committed to CFS is time invested into yourself, your family and your community.

Kerry Munchenberg, Truro CFS Brigade Lieutenant, encouraged more women in the community to consider volunteering for the CFS. 

“It’s not a boy’s club like it used to be either. You know, we’ve got more females up at Truro, it’s pretty much half and half. 

“We have female truck drivers. I’m one of them. I’m a chainsaw operator. We also have female breathing apparatus operators.”

For Nuriootpa Deputy Group Officer Shaun Falkenburg, the Northern Barossa CFS is more than just a firefighting unit. 

Shaun explained it also provides a community with several different development pathways for its members, allowing them to build new skills or bring existing talents to their team. 

“Not all members are drawn to the service for the same reason,” said Shaun. 

“We have some members who just want to be a firefighter and then we have other people who’ve taken a real career path within and going into some leadership and a lot of specialised training.”

Joining the CFS offers a unique opportunity to make a difference and leave a lasting impact on the community. Shaun encouraged those who have thought about joining to reach out to their local station and said the door is always open to new volunteers.

He noted that people who don’t live locally but work in the Barossa area can also make great candidates for membership as their proximity during the day can be vital in times of need.

“With the change in demographic and the way people live and work in different areas, sometimes we can maybe take in someone who works here... but lives in the suburbs of Adelaide at night.”

Shaun explained that the flexibility offered by the CFS means that members are able to use apps to notify the brigade of their availability. 

“We have apps that we all use now with availability. It’s all real-time. 

“We’ve come up to the digital world and we all will know if people are available or not, so we’re able to ensure that we are able to respond. There’s a lot more technology that we’re using day-to-day as well.”

Shaun encouraged people with existing skills, such as a background in electronics, to consider sharing their talents within the CFS. 

“...People in existing leadership roles would be well suited for it,” he added.

“Or if you’re looking at getting into leadership, it’s another good pathway to get there as well.

“You still do have to do the basics...but after that it’s a bit like ‘Choose Your Own Adventure’ in a book.”

Those interested in finding out more about joining The Northern Barossa CFS Group can contact: http://m.me/northernbarossacfsgroup or contact The Leader.