By Rose Astley
Pomona Fire and Rescue are looking for new recruits to join their emergency response team as auxiliary firefighters.
An auxiliary firefighter works on an ‘on-call’ basis to respond to any emergencies within the community, including car crashes, bushfires and structural fires.
Veteran station manager Paul Mardon has been serving the Pomona community as an emergency responder for 15 years, and he is now looking to extend his team.
“We’re looking for people that live in the Pomona area, they need to be a reasonable distance from the station so they can respond in a timely matter.
Mr Mardon said applicants need to have a desire to help their local community.
“As auxiliary firefighters we do exactly the same job as any other fire station but we are on an on call basis, the majority of auxiliary firefighters have primary employment and hopefully they can be released from that employment to respond to incidents,” Mr Mardon said.
“We respond to any type of emergency within our area, which includes road traffic crashes, structural fires like house fires and wildfires, search and rescue if required, response during cyclones and we do a lot of community education with schools and community groups.
“Basically anytime the community feels as though they need assistance, we are available to respond to that.
Mr Mardon said anyone over the age of 18 is able to apply for the role, though it’s important that people are physically and mentally equipped for the position.
“Anyone who is in good health is able to come talk to us and go through the process,” Mr Mardon said.
Mr Mardon said successful applicants would have to be great team players, as the role is based strongly around working in a team.
“The job that we do can’t be done by individuals, it’s centred around a team environment, working together and using our own individual skills for the benefit of the team to achieve the outcome we want.
Successful applicants will go through a training process on a weekly basis at the station, plus a two week initial recruitment program where they will learn basic fireman skills, which are then reinforced every week.
Everything is provided through the fire service from equipment and uniforms, Mr Mardon said this is paid position and any work done for the emergency response will be compensated.
Mr Marsdon said those keen to apply should first research the role online at the QFES website (where applicants must also apply for the role) and then visit the station on a Tuesday evening when training is taking place to meet the crew and further discuss the role.
