Newham Fire Brigade welcomes volunteers young and old with open arms

The Rush family are Newham Fire Brigade's newest volunteers, and their baby Jack is also getting involved.

Renee Rush grew up in town and has recently moved back to the area with her husband Conal, wanting to get involved in the community.

"Now that we're raising our own family, we knew this was the lifestyle we wanted for Jack," she said.

Since returning, Renee said she's seen a change in the community, with more young families living in the area.

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"People are moving here for a tree change and a different lifestyle, but coming from Melbourne, the idea of CFA is foreign to some," she said.

Renee is all too familiar with the importance of CFA in a rural area though, with her dad Graeme being an active member of the Newham Fire Brigade for 35 years.

"Dad was big supporter of CFA, he loved the fire brigade and spent a fair amount of time there," she said.

While on parental leave, Renee and Conal thought it would be perfect timing for them to start their own volunteering journey.

But Renee wasn't sure she would be able to balance her parenting duties with the training required to become an operational firefighter.

"I felt a little awkward at first, as I wasn't sure if I could take Jack with me, but they said it was not a problem, just to bring him down," she said.

"If we weren't able to take Jack down there, it would only be my husband volunteering, which would have been disappointing as it's really special to follow in my dad's footsteps."

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With both parents busy with the practical aspects of training, captain Bryan Hornbuckle has often found himself with some extra duties.

"They were practising down at Hanging Rock one weekend and had baby Jack with them, so I baby-sat and took him for a walk to watch the kangaroos," he said.

He said the brigade didn't have a large number of operational members, with some people moving away from the area recently, they're a bit light on.

Having new members like Renee and Conal will see an increase in the brigade's operational capability.

"A few people with young kids expressed an interest in joining, saying they might join when the kids are older," Bryan said.

"But there's nothing that says you can't bring your kids down; I brought mine down and now they're all captains."

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Renee said the more volunteers there are, the less reliance there is on the select few brigade members.

"Having a child can sometimes rob parents of their independence," she said.

"Being a member of the brigade gives a great sense of independence, while being treated as an equal.

"It also gives you skills your children will be proud of, while teaching them to become familiar with the first responders in the community."

Country Fire Association (CFA) chief officer Jason Heffernan said Newham Fire Brigade's focus on ensuring it can accommodate the different needs and circumstances of those interested in joining is a terrific example of many of our brigades' efforts to increase diversity within CFA.

"With more children and young people connecting with CFA through our brigades, the work CFA continues to do to embed the Child Safe Standards will ensure children and young people are safe as we welcome the next generation of CFA firefighters," he said.

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