South Australian communities bolstered by two new CFS brigades

29/07/2024

The SA Country Fire Service has bolstered its response to combating bushfires and other emergencies in the Adelaide Hills and surrounds with the official opening of two new operational support brigades over the weekend.

The Sturt and Southern Fleurieu Operational Support brigades are the first of their type to be formally established in Parliament since 2016 and, according to CFS Regional Commander Michael Bohrnsen, they will play a critical back-of-house role for all incidents and emergencies. 

“We know there are increased fire risks and hazards in the Adelaide Hills and beyond and given there’s a growing population in these peri-urban areas, it’s really important we bring in these additional support services.

“The brigades will consist of volunteers who will be professionally trained to provide radio communications, logistics and other key requirements for ground crews to tackle and get on top of future incidents,” Mr Bohrnsen said. 

One of the last Operational Support brigades to be established in South Australia was Para Reserve, in the aftermath of the Samson Flat bushfires. 

These two new brigades have been carefully considered and created after extensive consultation with government, community groups and CFS staff and volunteers.

They’ll also offer exciting opportunities for new and existing volunteers who may not wish to be, or don’t have capacity to be, frontline firefighters.

Sturt Group logistics support coordinator, Owen Lucas has already put his name down to be part of the new brigade and says it’ll serve a much greater purpose than providing increased protection in bushfire prone regions.

“Members of the new Sturt Group brigade will be rostered on-call with a kit bag of radios, a tablet and trained with the skills they need to support the 200 plus calls a year that local brigades respond to.

“The formation of a new brigade is an exciting opportunity for recruitment and retention of operational support members which in turn improves the services preparedness for all emergencies including bushfires,” Owen said.

Anyone interested in joining is encouraged to head to the CFS volunteers page, with final placements expected to be filled by September.

Quotes attributable to Emergency Services Minister Dan Cregan

'CFS volunteers are committed to serving their communities in many ways and in different roles.'

'These new brigades will provide vital support to frontline crews, helping them respond to bushfires and other emergencies in growing areas of the state.'

'Operational Support members are valued additions to the CFS’ response and demonstrate how volunteers with diverse skills and abilities can continue to assist.'