It’s hard to think about bushfires without heroic firefighters coming to mind. Facing down blazing walls of fire, cradling injured animals, evacuating vulnerable and frightened Aussies clutching a few precious belongings – these are the images that dominate our social feeds and TV news footage during the worst bushfire seasons.
What we sometimes forget is that the majority of these firefighters are volunteers, putting their own safety on the line for their community or for communities around them. For example, of the 82,480 people who responded to the Black Summer bushfires of 2019 and 2020, 64,500 were volunteers.1 Of the 33 people who lost their lives, nine were firefighters.2
Yet, at a time when experts predict the threat of bushfire will continue increasing in Australia,3 the country’s network of volunteer firefighters is shrinking. In 2012, there were around 220,000 volunteer firefighters and support staff, while in 2021, there were just over 193,000.4
“The nature of work and society is changing,” says Mark Dobson, active firefighter and volunteer team manager at Disaster Relief Australia.
“There are competing priorities, and many people have gone away from manual work, so may not necessarily be comfortable in the back of a fire truck. So, we have a changing societal demographic.”
Why does Australia have volunteer firefighters?
Australia is a nation prone to bushfire. Because of the sometimes vast distances between population centres, our bushfire response has long relied on trained volunteers, with volunteer firefighting organisations established throughout the 20th century to provide adequate and efficient firefighting resources to rural areas.5
“Because of the nature of bushfire fighting – usually a few days battling a threat here, a few days there, it’s been a good model to have volunteers,” says Mark.
The rewards of volunteer firefighting
Most firefighters, Mark shares, volunteer out of a sense of altruism and service to their community.
“I think people realise we don’t have enough individuals to sustain a professional fire service for the whole country, so everyone appreciates it’s necessary to have volunteer firefighters to be able to get the work done when there’s an outbreak,” he says.
A post-Black Summer Volunteering Australia report noted that volunteer experience in emergencies has benefits beyond putting out fires and protecting lives and property. In addition to the contribution that volunteers provide in time and labour, there are substantial psychosocial benefits for both volunteers and the communities impacted by emergency events.6
Mark has experienced some of those benefits for himself.
“When I volunteer for Disaster Relief Australia, I really enjoy my time because I’m surrounded with like-minded people and engaging with the community, and they’re so grateful that you’re helping them,” says Mark.
“When I leave, I feel like I’ve contributed, done something a bit selfless, and there’s an intrinsic benefit in that.”
It’s also a way to connect with your community – something that could benefit the many Australians who have moved to rural and regional areas from cities in recent years.7
“For tree changers, the first port of call should be to join the local volunteer fire service,” Mark suggests.
“You’re not going to be put in harm’s way, but over the next couple of years, you’ll learn some really valuable skills that will be handy on your property, and it’s a great way to connect with the community and meet a lot of people.”
The risks of volunteer firefighting
Firefighting does not come without danger.
“You have to have what’s called situational awareness – be very aware of what the fire is doing and which way it’s going, and you’ve got to have good communication, so you can get out before it’s too dangerous,” says Mark.
“The challenge for any fireground command is to know what the competence level of all your different crews are and how long to leave people in different places.”
As with any type of emergency work, there is the possibility that frontline workers may be exposed to traumatic situations.
A University of WA survey of emergency personnel responding to the Black Summer bushfires found 4.5% of volunteers and 5.1% of employees had probable post-traumatic stress disorder, while 4.6% of volunteers and 5.5% of employees had very high psychological distress.8
However, according to Mark, having the skills to assist in a confronting situation can help when it comes to processing it.
“If you’re a bystander and turn up where there is a serious injury, you can have a sense of helplessness,” he says.
“Whereas if you’ve got some training and resources that can actually help the situation, you focus on doing your role and tend to be less impacted by graphic events.”
Mark says you can prepare yourself for potentially traumatic events by ensuring you’re as psychologically fit as possible.
“You do that by making sure there is always some capacity in your bucket to deal with it,” he explains.
“If you’ve got a lot of balls in the air and you’re quite stressed when you’re exposed to something nasty, the likelihood of that having a negative impact really goes up.
“We say to our fireys, ‘If you’re stressed, take the day off.’ Firefighters are human beings first, and they need to look after themselves on that human level before they expose themselves to some potentially traumatic events.”
Why is the number of volunteer firefighters dwindling?
Volunteer availability in general is declining, with Volunteering Australia research revealing most organisations are experiencing recruitment challenges. While COVID-19 and rising costs of living were found to be factors, the most common reason given for not volunteering was work or family commitments.9
In addition to these broad social issues, Australian volunteer firefighting organisations have faced specific difficulties. Many rural communities have declining and ageing populations, and newcomers to rural areas sometimes have low levels of volunteer participation.10
The changing nature of Australia’s fire season is also impacting volunteer availability.
“As we saw with Black Summer, the campaign went on for months. That starts to have a big impact on fatigue – you just can’t do it week after week,” says Mark.
“Not only that, but the grace of your volunteers’ employers is also tested when they are needed for weeks on end.”
An Australian Government report found during Black Summer, volunteers spent an average of three weeks fighting fires and around nine nights away from home.1
Dwindling volunteer numbers, combined with the increased risk of catastrophic bushfire outbreak, becomes an enormous challenge for bushfire-prone communities and rural fire services.
“During Black Summer, career firefighters were doing a lot more of the fighting, but they worked probably 100 hours a week, so even that got to the point where they were out of capacity.”
“For the long term, there needs to be some real thought about how to bolster the capacity of emergency workers for these longer bushfire campaigns.”
Should volunteer firefighters get paid?
There is precedent for compensating Australian volunteers for their efforts in large-scale bushfire campaigns. During Black Summer, the Australian Government introduced a compensation scheme that provided eligible volunteers up to $6,000 to ensure they were not out of pocket for their contribution.6
It has been suggested that a more compensatory-style scheme may help attract more volunteer firefighters. An Australia Institute report revealed 85% of Australians were in favour of an Army Reserve-style compensation model for volunteer firefighters that could provide additional benefits, including medical support, tax incentives and payments.11
How to keep volunteer firefighters safe and engaged
Keeping volunteers safe and engaged comes down to training, Mark shares.
“Good brigades and units run really well-oiled training programs – you turn up on this day, this is what we’re doing, and everyone’s getting a chance to have a go,” he says.
“People enjoy learning things and honing their skills, getting better at stuff, so those really well-structured training sessions build the team and give them a positive experience when they turn up.”
Mark says something Disaster Relief Australia does well is tap into the existing skills of their volunteers.
“People turn up and they’ll say, ‘Tell us what your skills are.’ Smarter brigades and units will find out about their volunteers and see what skills they have and put them to good use.”
An RMIT survey of emergency response volunteer representatives highlighted some initiatives they felt were working well to engage them. These included a consultative committee set up by the NSW Rural Fire Service, the Country Fire Authority’s safety training for volunteers, research and collaboration with Aboriginal communities in relation to cultural burning practices, and a ladies-only information night hosted by the Chidlow Volunteer Bush Fire Brigade in WA.12
How you can volunteer to fight bushfires
If you’re interested in learning more about volunteering for your local fire service, you can follow the link below for your state or territory:
- ACT – Rural Fire Service
- Western Australia – Bushfire volunteers
- Country Fire Authority
- Northern Territory – Volunteering for cyclones, fire and disasters
- NSW – Rural Fire Service
- Queensland – Rural Fire Service
- South Australia – Country Fire Service
- Tasmania – Volunteer Fire Brigades Association
As Mark says, you may find that in volunteering, you get more than you give.
“It ties into that Australian idea of mateship and community. One of the best reasons I would encourage people to volunteer is they get to be part of a really positive, supportive community that you spend time with.”
For more expert tips to help you get bushfire ready, visit our you.prepared emergency content hub.
Mark Dobson
An active firefighter with more than 20 years of experience, Mark Dobson is the Founder of Ordinary Courage, a workplace mental health consultancy. Mark is a Churchill Fellow, a volunteer team manager for Disaster Relief Australia and a recipient of the Australian Fire Service Medal (2020) for his pioneering work supporting first responders’ mental health. Youi is proud to partner with Mark in the creation of this bushfire preparedness content.
The content in this article has been prepared based on current government and emergency services guidelines and expert advice provided at the time of publishing. This information is subject to change. Please be sure to check for the latest information and always consider your personal circumstances regarding bushfire preparedness and response.
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1 Source: Department of Health and Aged Care – Supporting bushfire responders after the fires, September 2022
2 Source: International Recovery Platform – Recovery Collection: Australia: Black Summer Bushfires 2019-20
3 Source: UNSW – Brace for bushfire season ahead, but expect worse to come, August 2023
4 Source: CSIRO Publishing – Age and physical activity status of Australian volunteer firefighters: a cross-sectional study, April 2024
5 Source: Museums Victoria Collections – The Birth of the Country Fire Authority
6 Source: Volunteering Australia – Submission to the Senate Inquiry: Lessons to be learned in relation to the Australian bushfire season 2019-20, May 2020
7 Source: Australian Government – Migration between cities and regions: A quick guide to COVID-19 impacts, 2020
8 Source: The University of Western Australia – Survey reveals mental health impacts of Black Summer fires on emergency workers, October 2021
9 Source: Volunteering Australia – New landmark research to guide the future of volunteering, October 2022
10 Source: ABC – Bushfire risk high, lack of volunteers places increasing pressure on rural fire brigades, September 2023
11 Source: The Australia Institute – Bush Firefighter Reserves?
12 Source: RMIT University Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC – Emergency volunteering 2030: Views from emergency response volunteer representatives
