The captain of Helensburgh Volunteer Rural Fire Brigade, Marc Rayner, is proud of his members. And with good reason.
The station is renowned for its quick response time and the dedication of its 100% volunteer crew, a number of whom received the National Emergency Medal for their contribution to fighting the 2019/2020 bushfires.
“I'm proud of the brigade's history as we have been going for over 80 years, and that I've been able to contribute nearly 25 years to that, serving the community. But I’m also being the caretaker to hand over to the next generation so they can provide another 80 years of service to the community.”
Currently the brigade has 35 active members and is recruiting new members. Marc explains why.
“We have two category-one tankers [really big fire trucks] that can both hold six [people] to each vehicle. So we really need 24 active firefighters on a regular basis to be able to respond to anything 24 hours a day.”
In addition to fighting bushfires, the brigade is the primary responder to the Garrawarra Centre and to all motor vehicle incidents on the M1 expressway.
“We’re looking for new members 18 years old and above, and preferably, we're looking for some younger members to actually step into the firefighter roles and start to be trained up so they can be the next generation of Helensburgh firefighters.”
Marc joined in 1997. He loves working with his hands and being outdoors.
“I'd only just moved into the area, so decided that it was time to give back to the community. And so joined up. I love the sense of community in Helensburgh and being able to give back to the community. The sense of fulfilment in being able to challenge myself, to be able to learn new skills, learn new concepts, take on bigger roles, and then lead and mentor the younger members coming through. A lot of people want to give back to the community and this is one way. They want that sense of family that the RFS can provide.
“There is adrenaline. It is an adrenaline-driven thing to go out there and fight a fire and face your fears. but we train accordingly and we make sure that people are highly skilled and competent in what they do.”
Just in case he puts anyone off, Marc adds: “It's not all hard work. There's a lot of fun. There's a lot of enjoyment, a lot of camaraderie, a lot of friendships made. When we sign up to the RFS, we sign up to protect the Helensburgh community and the surrounding areas.”
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