On the first and third Thursday of every month excluding school holidays, the junior fire brigade under the junior volunteer development program, meet at Trafalgar fire station to learn about fire safety and develop their skills as junior firefighters.
The junior volunteer development program is run across 160 brigades in Victoria and is open for young people aged 11-15.
In Trafalgar, the junior fire brigade sessions are led by volunteer firefighter Naomi Goodin, who has been a firefighter for the past seven years.
Goodin is assisted by Phil Barnes, who joined the CFA in 1987.
Both Barnes and Goodin use their experiences as firefighters to guide the juniors.
On November 6, five junior firefighters came to a training session and learnt about drafting. When fire hydrants are not accessible, drafting works to draw water from an external source like a river, a dam or even a swimming pool into the fire truck.
With teamwork being an essential aspect of being a firefighter, the juniors work well together to assemble equipment and ask questions when needed.
Goodin explained that the training sessions are led by the juniors themselves, giving them the opportunity to take ownership and learn through hands-on experience.
“They get to choose their training; we are just here mainly to supervise.
“Other than going near live fire, they get to do all the same training that we [qualified firefighters] do,” she says.
As well as developing firefighting skills, the program gives the juniors the opportunity to be social, learn valuable life skills and understand the importance of community.
“I think it is a really good program. The confidence boost that it gives quite a lot of kids is phenomenal,” Goodin says.
Junior firefighter Trin Jarvis and her family are new to the area. She says that joining the junior brigade is her way of getting “involved in more activities” within the community.
Logan Goodin and Reid Barnes say that their favourite part about being junior firefighters is “hanging out with mates.”
They would both like to see more young people join the program.
“We need more firefighters. You never know when someone is going to retire or just feel like quitting,” Barnes says.
Due to many reasons including availability, life commitments and health concerns, the number of operational volunteer firefighters has fluctuated over the years.
Through the junior brigade, Goodin hopes to see more young people join and work their way up to becoming senior firefighters.
