By Callum Ludwig
Applications for project firefighters who are keen to join the Forest Fire Management Victoria (FFMV) team have opened.
The Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (DEECA) is offering roles available at nine different locations throughout Melbourne, including Powelltown, Olinda and Knoxfield.
Powelltown-based firefighter Molly Tucci said they do a lot around the community in helping to prevent and suppress bushfires.
“I’ve been at Powertown for two years now, it’s just a really good opportunity, even for people who don’t feel like they have the skills but there’s a lot of training involved so you never feel out of your depth,” she said.
“No two days are the same, there’s always work to do, and all of our work is, in effect, to help the community.”
A number of FFMV and CFA firefighters are currently deployed in Canada to help fight bushfires in the country which have been burning since March this year, with their important expertise even more crucial as the intensity of the fires has risen over June and July.
Ms Tucci said their work is a big part of what goes into keeping fires away locally or being able to control them in a better manner if they do come.
“We do a lot of planned burning, a lot of our work is coordinating and carrying out back burning and even when there’s no back burns or fires, we do a lot of maintenance around the community,” she said.
“We’re working outdoors predominantly, there are opportunities for machine operating, we do a lot of slashing, clearing tracks and road construction, we have a grader and a dozer and maintain a lot of the area around recreation sites like the Ada Tree and Starling’s Gap (campground).”
A seasonal recruitment drive is held each year, offering full-time positions as general firefighters,
fire support officers and rappel crew firefighters from October until April.
Ideal candidates will have a reasonable bill of health and fitness and hold a current manual driver’s licence.
Ms Tucci said new firefighters are always put with experienced people and are learning constantly.
“It’ll be really important to have some fresh skills to bring on and new people, just to all work as a team and be able to do our jobs with more experience,” she said.
“We need everyone we can to try and reduce that fuel, get all our roads open and have everything really accessible and ready if we do find ourselves in the face of fire this year.”
