Castlemaine CFA first lieutenant Trent Dempster has been volunteering with a range of local brigades for five-and-a-half years now, and he wants to get more youth involved.
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Mr Dempster, 28, originally joined the CFA with Campbell's Creek and has since also served with the Maryborough Fire Brigade.
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Mr Dempster said his team had conducted a few rescues for dogs, and a horse, since he'd come onboard but previously the team had also attended to people who had fallen in the heavily-mined Bendigo region.
He has also been employed as a district mechanical officer, and is currently employed as a CFA tower overseer. In his role as a tower overseer, Mr Dempster has to look after the maintenance of the fire towers at the stations - including the columns, aerials and antennas.
For National Volunteer Week - which runs until May 22 - the firefighter is encouraging more young people to jump on board and make a difference in their communities.
"I've always been someone who enjoys helping others," he said.
"Not so much for the benefit of being paid to do so, I just enjoy getting out there helping others working with others."
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Mr Dempster does a lot of training with other volunteers and said he is into helping everyone get involved - but there is a shortage of young volunteers.
"Volunteering hasn't been pushed as hard and it's hard getting the younger people through," he said.
"We try to push the volunteer side of it to the younger generation to try and get them to move up into it.
"We've got a few younger members but it definitely doesn't outweigh the amount of older members that are starting to move out."
For Mr Dempster, there are a heap of benefits to giving back.
"I really enjoy what I do with a CFA and I have no plans to leave," he said.
"It helps to improve myself and help bring the younger generation up through it."
He said those who are interested can find out more or they can visit their local brigade on a Saturday or Sunday morning to have a chat.
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