Broken Hill’s fire brigades still need on-call fire firefighters to join the crews a few weeks from the initial call out.
Despite some light at the end of the tunnel, local stations are currently understaffed.
Central station Acting Deputy Captain, Chad Bergersen, said the 238 and 239 stations still require about 8-10 retained firefighters.
“We’ve had some new applicants but we need more,” Mr Bergersen said. “It’s difficult in a small town so it will be an ongoing process.”
Fire and Rescue NSW plan to ramp up its social media advertisements and continue to spread the message on news broadcasting platforms.
A hand full of applications are undergoing the onboarding process that includes a fitness test, medical and induction before training begins.
Mr Bergersen believes there is some interest in the community.
“A lot of people I’ve spoken to are just unsure if they can fit another job around their other commitments,” he said.
“What I want to make clear is it’s whatever availability you can give us.”
June presented a busy month for the local brigades with several call-outs to house fire and car accident scenes.
Mr Bergersen said the job is “quite difficult” without the adequate number of staff
“Quite often they are having to share to get trucks out the door,” he said.
“The stations work well together and that’s helping but we just getting by.”
An information pack about the on-call role is available on the Fire and Rescue NSW website.
The Acting Deputy Captain is optimistic that recruits will join the ranks in the near future.
“I do anticipate getting a few more in the next couple of months,” Mr Bergersen said.
“I’ve spoken to people around town who are considering applying.”
For more information or to register your interest, call 1800 347 437.
