SA Government announces $30,000 for CFS reserve team
A team of up to 60 volunteer firefighters will be formed in Adelaide's north to back up the Country Fire Service in major bushfires.
Emergency Services Minister Tony Piccolo announced a $30,000 grant for the state response team, which will be based at the Roseworthy and Salisbury stations.
Region 2 Regional Commander John Hutchins said the team gives those who do not live close to a CFS station the opportunity to become volunteers, but also provides relief to firefighters during major bush fires.
"It's a group of people that haven't got the ability to belong to what we call a mainstream brigade," he said.
"They don't live close enough to a CFS station to be able to respond immediately.
"We provide them with training, we provide them with an appliance and as long as they can respond to the station within about an hour we can use them as a reserve to the mainstream firefighters.
"So we get them to respond after the fact, to takeover, to change the current crew on the fire."
Mr Hutchins said the initiative for a State Response Team was pioneered by Region 2 CFS and was supported by the CFS Volunteers Association.
The Region 2 area includes Mount Lofty Ranges north of the Torrens River, the Mid North, Clare Valley and the Yorke Peninsula.
However Mr Hutchins said the call for reserve teams had grown beyond that, and he hoped the concept could be introduced throughout Adelaide.
"The minister has embraced it and fought for us to get a grant so that we can look at making this concept right across Adelaide," he said.
"This is just a concept so we will try this fire season with a grant ... we will prove that this is a success and expand it next year."
Mr Piccolo said if the concept proved successful the Government would look at putting reserve teams in the city area as well as one in the southern parts of Adelaide.
Mr Hutchins said the support of a state reserves team was invaluable, and had already proven successful during the Bangor and Eden Valley fires earlier this year.
