More on-call firefighters needed in Boorowa

Almost seven in 10 call-outs from Boorowa Fire Station occurred during business hours last financial year, highlighting the challenge of maintaining enough local firefighters who can respond when the pager goes off. Fire and Rescue NSW recently recruited for three on-call firefighter positions at Boorowa, with the latest application round closing last Sunday. Southern Highlands Duty Commander Inspector Joel Pooley told the Boorowa Business Chamber that finding people with daytime availability remained one of the biggest challenges for the station. “We’re often bringing people in from other areas, like Young, to standby at the station, to make up the numbers, because we always have to have a crew of four available to respond,” Inspector Pooley said. Boorowa Fire Station responded to 58 incidents during 2024–25, with 69 per cent occurring during Monday to Friday business hours. Inspector Pooley said the station had 11 on-call firefighters on its books, which was not enough to maintain coverage for Boorowa 24 hours a day, every day of the year. Four prospective recruits attended an information night at the station prior to the Business Chamber presentation, with Fire and Rescue NSW hopeful they would apply for the latest intake. However, people who missed the recruitment round can still register their interest in becoming an on-call firefighter so they can be contacted when future positions become available. Deputy Captain Charmaine Roth, from Moss Vale, said Fire and Rescue NSW could provide the trucks, equipment and training, but maintaining an on-call station ultimately relied on people from the local community being available. “We can provide the facilities and the trucks and the training and all the rest of it, but it’s really up to the community to be able to provide the firefighters,” Deputy Captain Roth said. She said local employers could play an important role by supporting workers who wanted to become firefighters and, where possible, allowing them to leave work when an emergency call came through. “It might be someone working casually, working part time, or someone who has availability on their week off,” she said. “We really need you all to help spread the word.” Unlike volunteer emergency services, Fire and Rescue NSW on-call firefighters are paid employees. They receive a retainer and are paid for call-outs, training, drills and authorised station duties. A Boorowa-specific fact sheet lists a recruit firefighter hourly rate of $38 during the six-month probation period, with additional retainer and allowance payments. On-call firefighters are required to maintain availability and attend a minimum proportion of incidents and training drills. The need extends well beyond fires. Boorowa is a primary rescue station for the area, with firefighters responding to road crashes, structure fires, bush and grass fires, hazardous material incidents, floods, animal rescues and requests to assist other emergency services. Of Boorowa’s 58 calls in 2024–25, 22 related to fires and explosions, 24 were false calls or alarms, five were non-fire rescues, five involved assisting other agencies or the public, and two were classified as other incidents. The average call lasted about an hour. Deputy Captain Roth said becoming an on-call firefighter involved a substantial training process, including pre-course work and two four-day training blocks. Training can include road-crash rescue, breathing apparatus, hazardous materials, first aid, radio communications and firefighting techniques. Inspector Pooley said Fire and Rescue NSW wanted to find people likely to remain in the role because of the investment involved in training each new firefighter. “Becoming an on-call firefighter offers a great opportunity to keep the local community safe, learn new skills and be part of a highly respected organisation,” he said. “People find it a highly rewarding part-time career, however retention can be difficult if people change their primary employment or move away from the local area.” While the latest Boorowa recruitment round has now closed, Deputy Captain Roth said interested people did not have to wait for another advertisement before putting their hand up. They can approach the local station or register their interest through fire.nsw.gov.au/on-call, allowing Fire and Rescue NSW to make contact when another recruitment opportunity opens.