Young volunteers needed to bolster state’s ageing RFS workforce
The NSW Rural Fire Service faces a looming crisis with 26,000 volunteers in their 60s and 70s, while cost-of-living pressures deter younger recruits from joining their ranks.
The Rural Fire Service is battling an ageing workforce, with almost 40 per cent of the state’s volunteers older than 60 – as fireys work to recruit young members before they finally hang up their helmets.
New figures have revealed 26,000 current volunteers across NSW are aged in their 60s and 70s alone, with older people making up the majority of members in the state’s rural areas, where bushfires are often at their worst.
A breakdown of the data tabled in parliament late last month showed just over 29,000 volunteers are aged below 50, while more than 38,000 on the front line of our some of the state’s most dangerous emergencies are aged between 50 and 70-plus.
Despite an increasing reliance on volunteers in weather emergencies, a recent NSW government report found volunteer numbers are not keeping up with the growing population and have declined in regional areas, with cost-of-living cited as a key issue.
A spokesman for the RFS said the organisation was “looking to bolster recruitment and retention of members” and had a heavy focus on recruitment of younger members.
“The RFS is committed to fostering the next generation of volunteer firefighters across NSW, ensuring the strength and sustainability of rural fire brigades into the future,” he said.
Hawkesbury Group Captain Craig Burley has been a member of the Rural Fire Service since 1981, and said while he thinks he’s got another five or six years left on the tools, his biggest focus was on succession planning in his local brigades.
“There comes a point where you can’t do what you used to and you’ve got to step aside,” Mr Burley said.
“So a big goal for me has been recruitment drives and trying to get people trained up for captain and leadership roles, because they are the future.
“It’s a very rewarding career and you see and do things you just wouldn’t dream of.”
Now 67, he’s travelled the country – and the globe – through the RFS, juggling his obligations with his career, his wife, five children, and eventually 13 grandchildren.
But with the constantly rising cost of living and huge mortgage repayments faced by families in NSW, he understands why people feel they don’t have the capacity to volunteer, and why it’s harder to recruit.
“It is more difficult to maintain consistency with our younger members, certainly,” he said.
“That’s because they are starting their lives, stress is greater than when I was that age.
“When I got my first mortgage it was $35,000, it’s very different nowadays and it can be difficult to juggle it all.
“But even if you can’t give as much time as others, any involvement (with the RFS) is invaluable.”
Recent recruitment drives have proven successful however, with an influx of RFS volunteers under 30 joining in the past 12 months, including 506 fresh young faces in the greater Sydney area alone.
Two of those are 19-year-old Adhav Pillai and 21-year-old Ben Bruckard, who’ve added the RFS to the mix of full-time university study, part-time jobs and extra curricular activities like swim training and studying for a pilot’s license.
Mr Bruckard said it was easy to juggle it all by setting strict boundaries, and carving out specific time each week or month for his local Engadine brigade.
“I make exceptions if I’m called for major incidents or hazard reductions that are more spur of the moment, but otherwise I know consistently what days I can give to the RFS and which I can’t,” he said.
Mr Pillai encouraged young people to become members and complete their training, even if they couldn’t commit to regular call-outs.
“We’ve got members who stop by once a month, or for an urgent call-out and that’s enough,” he said.
“You don’t need to be here every day or commit to every event, but being a person to call is a huge help, and it’s something I’m proud to do.”
Opposition emergency services spokesman Gurmesh Singh said more needed to be done to attract young members like Mr Pillai and Mr Bruckner.
“Fighting fires for your community is a very rewarding experience and provides a great opportunity to give back in a meaningful way,” he said.
“We need to ensure the RFS has a strong and bright future, and that means encouraging young people to get involved and stay involved.”
