Teenage girl repeatedly ’hazed’ by Victorian fire volunteers

A girl attacked with fire sprinklers was also duct-taped to the front of a fire truck and hit with a thong.

CFA brigade Captain Hayden Allen.

A 17-year-old Victorian girl “hazed” with fire sprinklers last month was also allegedly duct-taped to the bull bar of a fire truck and chased around with towels and thongs by volunteer firefighters, a Country Fire Auth­ority report says.

The CFA pledged yesterday to tackle a culture of hazing and heavy drinking at their Eaglehawk branch in central Victoria, where former captain Hayden Allen has resigned and been barred from volunteering, and some firefighters remain under investigation.

The same girl came to national attention last month when CCTV footage of her being dragged by her hair, kicked, and sprayed with fire sprinklers was released. It is now clear it was not an isolated incident.

Victorian Emergency Ser­vices Minister James Merlino said the CFA’s report on the ­repeated attacks on the girl was “damning … It is important the CFA have responded strongly and that the former captain of this brigade will never be allowed to join a CFA brigade again”.

Four firefighters, including Mr Allen, were identified in the report as the leaders of several hazing incidents involving the 17-year-old girl and other young people who volunteered at the Eaglehawk station.

The report alleges the girl was chased by Mr Allen with a towel before she slipped and fell, and the then captain swirled his keys above her head.

She was then hit with a thong by another volunteer.

Mr Allen and a volunteer confirmed the girl had been ­restrained to the front of a truck at one point where, sources told The Australian, she was left for some time.

In another incident, volunteers drank alcohol at the station after a marathon and some young volunteers were dunked against their will in a trough full of water.

The report says some of the accused participants of these hazing rituals showed little ­remorse for their actions.

“It would appear that the young members participated in the unacceptable behaviour to gain favour with the captain and be offered ‘the first seats on the truck’,” the CFA says.