Wildfire minimum skills class of 2010

We finally got our wildfire minimum skill course at Goornong and it proved to be a resounding success. In total 15 new recruits have started the course. The recruits come from Elmore, Kamarooka, Huntly and Goornong and will greatly improve the volunteer base for these brigades. All recruits have completed and passed the theory component with only the practical day to go. Photos are of one of a number of practical training sessions being run to prepare the students for their last session. Photos show Goornong tanker 2 with crew playing "Grass Fire Soccer"

The concept is, using a ball as the fire edge, the crews have to control the travel of the ball using hoses in the standard config for running grass fire. In addition we added a couple of tankers and when the leading tanker loses control of the ball or it comes level with cab of the tanker, the tanker pulls off and the second tanker in line takes over.
All those involved had a bit of fun but more importantly they gained practical skills and some valuable lessons in team work.