Our exCaptain moved to Murray Bridge and joined the MFS auxiliary there - they seem to have a fair few members currently.
So does a town like Murray Bridge need two services or one? If one, which one
Do they have a need for a retained service to do the kinds of things that I firmly believe volunteers should spend minimal time doing (ie: tonnes of fixed alarm activations, private alarms). And could they do without a CFS which a) is good urban backup and b) is a central point for a large Brigade with a big population to draw volunteers from to manage rural risks around the area supported by the smaller rural Brigades). Can a volunteer Brigade in a largish country town really sustain volunteers to do some of the more mundane but totally necessary fire service and associated duties? Particularly when the service is unable to address issues such as volunteer release from employment, loss of income, child care etc, recruitment, retention etc.
And what is the difference between two services (or three) in a country town and the duplication and proximity of resources in the urban interface areas?
And rather than just focus on whether a Brigade needs to full time paid, retained or volunteer based on the number of calls shouldn't we also be looking at the risks, types of incidents attended and proximity of other resources? Does a Brigade doing 350 calls a year (many of them fixed alarm or stop type calls) with another service and three other Brigades within 20 minutes really need to be full time paid? What about a Brigade doing 50 in a small area struggling to find vollies where the incidents are high risk/rescue and the next resource is an hour away?
I am in support of all members from all services who are out there protecting their communities and assets regardless of uniform and motivation. I'm sure the vast majority of us would be happy if we can find a better way to deliver our services. I guess that is the challenge of SAFECOM.