Cobar Fire and Rescue NSW Station 256 is now at full strength following the recent recruitment of five trainee Retained Firefighters.
Acting brigade captain, Huw Rabone, said the addition of the five new recruits now brings the Cobar crew up to a total of 17.
“It’s the first time that we’ve been at full capacity for a while now,” Acting Captain Rabone said.
He said having a full complement of firefighters takes some of the pressure off the station which is tasked with protecting local people, property and the environment by responding to fires, rescues and hazmat incidents.
The staff is also called upon to assist with prevention community education.
Acting Captain Rabone explained the role of a Retained Firefighter requires a big commitment.
He said the minimum requirement is for staff to be on call (the award is for 24 hours per week) however he said staff generally do more than that.
“They are also required to do an hour/an hour and half a week checking station inventory and two hours of drill training every fortnight, that’s the minimum.
“It’s sort of part-time permanent employment,” he explained.
Before they were taken on as trainees, they first had to pass a physical aptitude test which is designed to emulate what they would do as a firefighter—picking up and holding objects above their head, dragging a person, walking and carrying a fire hose etc.
The five new recruits are now at various stages of their training which is generally conducted in two phases.
“They can go to Sydney and do it all in one hit, but because we’re regional, it’s broken down into two phases of four day blocks, usually at Wellington,” he said.
“The first phase goes over basic firefighting equipment, a bit of hazmat training, and the second focuses on gas detection, hazardous atmospheres and basic life support.”
The Cobar Weekly sat down with three of the new recruits this week, married couple Abby and David Soto (who both work at the CSA Mine) and Dakota Tatchell (an early childhood educator) to find out what prompted them to join the Cobar brigade.
All three said it was the idea of helping the community that prompted them to join the brigade.
Abby and David both have a background of working in mines rescue teams while it’s all new for Dakota. She was keen to serve the community like her father before her who volunteered with Rural Fire Service and Fire and Rescue when she was young.
After being involved in mines rescue, Abby said becoming a fire fighter felt like the “next step”.
“I enjoy helping the community and helping in emergency situations.”
For David, he’s always wanted to be a firefighter since he was a young boy and when this opportunity came up to join the Cobar brigade, he was keen to pursue it.
For Dakota, who’s completed Phase 1 of her training, the hazmat (hazardous materials) training has proven to be the biggest challenge so far. Her small stature proved to be a bit of a barrier as the fully encapsulated hazmat suits are made for people six foot tall!
Abby and David expect the hazmat training will also be their biggest challenge (for different reasons) when they commence their training.
All three said their families and friends have been supportive of their decisions to become firefighters with Dakota’s mum encouraging her as she’d also had aspirations of becoming a firefighter but gave them up when she started her family.
Dakota said the kids at the Early Learning Centre where she works think her being a firefighter is “really cool”.
Abby’s friends also think her new role is “cool” and keep asking for pictures.
They’ve also commended her for helping the community.
David said his parents haven’t said much about his decision to train as a firefighter, although his mum is not totally on board with the idea and worries about the dangers he might face.
“She already thinks my job [as a Heavy Disel Fitter at the mine] is dangerous as it is,” he said.
When asked about what skills they have had to work to develop to carry out the role, Abby said she feels like she will need to further develop her “muscle memory” to learn how to react in certain emergency situations.
“And get comfortable, per se in reacting to those situations and not sort of panicking and being calm. It does take a bit of getting used to, especially with how sort of confrontational, some of the situations you walk into are,” Abby said.
“I love the community engagement aspect of it,” Dakota said.
Abby said in addition to helping the community, she’s also keen to learn what to do in the case of an emergency, and carry that over to mines rescue or use it if she comes across an accident.
“Having the ability to help out in any situation, even when you’re not on call, is a definite bonus,” she said.
The other two new trainee recruits, Michael Mitchell and Rowan Martin, are from the Endeavour and CSA mines.
