- Published:
- Monday 14 December 2015
Thirty new CFA career firefighters have graduated today after successfully completing an intensive 19-week training course.
Minister for Emergency Services Jane Garrett congratulated the group of recruits at a ceremony at the Victorian Emergency Management Training Centre (VEMTC) at Craigieburn.
The firefighters will take up postings at 14 stations across the state, including Ballarat, Eltham, Mildura, Shepparton, Rosebud, Springvale and Wodonga.
The recruits came from a range of different backgrounds including teaching, mechanics, retail, health and business. Eleven of the 30 also have experience as CFA volunteers.
Ms Garrett also presented the prestigious Unit Citation for Service award at today’s ceremony to seven CFA members including Travis Klein (Warrnambool Fire Brigade), Luke McClelland, Stephen Fankhauser, Malcolm Hayes (Mildura Fire Brigade), Garth Marshall, Mark Raymond (Shepparton Fire Brigade) and Terry Heafield (Wangaratta Fire Brigade).
The group was the first on the scene at a grassfire threatening the feeder conveyer belt of the Hazelwood Power Station on 14 February 2014, five days after the Hazelwood coal mine fire started.
They defied extremely hostile conditions to prevent the fire spreading until extra resources arrived, helping save the conveyer and the plant.
The CFA has 972 career firefighters, in addition to its 57,000 dedicated volunteers.
Quotes attributable to Minister for Emergency Services Jane Garrett
“Firefighters provide an essential service to protect lives and property and it’s fantastic to see another group of dedicated recruits join the ranks.”
“The CFA graduates will be deployed to different parts of the state to keep communities safe from fires and other emergencies.”
“They provide a welcome boost to our firefighting capacity as we head into a long, hot and dry summer with an increased risk of bushfires in many parts of the state.”