VFRSA WA NEWS: June 2025

VFRSA
Jun 6
8 min read

From the Executive Officer's Desk:

People quite often ask me what does an Executive Officer do? At the VFRSAWA we have 90+ member Brigades which means at times I have 90+ different roles to play in supporting our Volunteer Brigades and their members.

Every task completed though has the same foundation, how can we as an Association ensure that you as volunteers are supported in your role within VFRS, and how can we ensure volunteering remains a great part of your life for life.

At the end of March myself and Tony Dodd attended the Victorian State Urban and Rural Firefighting Championships in Mooroopna Victoria, in support of our Brigades who went and competed. We had two teams, Harvey VFRS was one team, and a second team was made up of volunteers from multiple Brigades and competed under the banner of the famous Brigade number 13, Norseman. If you ask our President Tony Dodd where Norseman is, well he will say its in God’s country and many a champion firefighter has come from the streets of Norseman.

It was a privilege to be in Victoria representing WA, and clear to see the strength of connections and friendships forged over many years between our WA and Victorian volunteers. Congratulations to both teams who represented WA with great skill and integrity.

On return to WA our focused turned to our Easter Championships held in Bunbury this year. What a fantastic event!! A huge thankyou goes out to John Kowal AFSM, and the team at Bunbury VFRS for their time, efforts and commitment to see the Competition such a huge success. In 2025 we also welcomed Oakford BFB to the championships and from all reports they had a fantastic time and will be returning next year.

At the start of the Championships we had the opportunity to pause and reflect on those who we have lost in recent times in the VFRS family. Eddie Hart, Dudley Magill, and Graeme Cowie who were all pivotal to the success of our competitions were remembered with a minutes silence followed by a blessing of the games by our DFES chaplain Steve Wickham. Thankyou Steve.

With former Champion Firefighter Dudley Magill, being from the South West, his wife Berryl and family were able to be at our championships. It was a very special moment to see Berryl present the Champion Firefighter awards in memory of Dudley. Thank you to Berryl and her family for their wonderful support for our championships. I also presented Berryl with a WA State Composite 8 tshirt. She thought it was absolutely fantastic, so if you're in and around Bunbury and notice Berryl wearing her WA Composite 8 tshirt with pride please say hello, I’m sure she would love it.

On Easter Friday we were confronted with awful news that Daniel Robinson had been injured in an accident returning from an incident he had attended in the Great Southern region of WA.

Daniel’s injuries were very severe, and our concern immediately turned to Daniel, his family and his Brigade. I was able to get to the Brigade on the Tuesday after Easter and assist with providing support to the Brigade and Daniel. I would like to take a moment to commend all the volunteers who assisted Daniel in his time of need, to commend the regional team and DFES command who assisted Daniel’s family through the hours and days following Daniel’s injury. It is in the moments of adversity that we see the true strength of our Brigades and our people. This case was no exception, the values of courage, teamwork, compassion, friendship and commitment were displayed in the care and support given to Daniel and his family from right across WA. Daniel is now home with family, and we will as an Association continue to provide support to Daniel and the Brigade through his long journey to recovery.

The VFRSA Executive met in May for their quarterly meeting. This meeting was held via teams and many issues were discussed. The minutes of these meetings have been published and I would encourage you to have a read and please contact us if you have any questions.

Prior to the meeting I had the opportunity to meet with our female firefighter representatives, who have a Facebook group that addresses issues and provides support to all female firefighters within the VFRS Brigades. Thankyou to this team who courageously and passionately represent or female firefighters and present some of the female specific issues and needs that get raised through the group. We as an Association value your contribution and thank you for being one of our great resources to our members. I would strongly encourage any female firefighters within VFRS Brigades to join this group and share any concerns or issues that relate to you being female in our service through this group in what is a female only, safe and supportive forum. We have agreed to meet with representatives from the Female Firefighter’s group every few months via teams to allow members of the group to discuss and provide feedback or issues directly to myself and our President Tony Dodd that have been raised through the forum. Again, I must state that it is a female only and confidential group and your issues will only be raised to myself and Tony with your permission.

In early May I went to Southern Cross and met with the Brigade there. Like all our Brigades, what a fantastic group of volunteers who clearly enjoy each other’s company and are committed to serving their town through the provision of fire and rescue services. Thankyou to Tony “Spud” for the warm hospitality shown by yourself and your members during my visit. It was certainly pretty special getting home made dinner provided to the Brigade by Spud’s wife.

Thanks to Matt Campbell and the team at Rio Tinto, Tony and I were able to visit two of our private Brigades in Tom Price and Paraburdoo VFRS with Rio Tinto funding our trip, accommodation and car hire. Thankyou Matt. Tony and I thoroughly enjoyed our time in the Pilbara with these Brigades and were able to see some of the wins and some of the challenges faced by these Brigades. We were planning on being up in the Pilbara again last week, but both Tony and myself (I somehow got COVID!) were unwell and were unable to attend.

A quick reminder that we have nominations open for our Executive elections, I would encourage anyone with a passion for volunteering and their zone to consider nominating. Please remember to nominate your member to be your voice.

Finally, it has been a very tough week for our DFES family with the loss of District Officer and CFRS staff member of 17 years Adam Monson. Our heartfelt condolences and sympathies go out to Adam’s family, friends and colleagues and we stand together with our DFES family as they prepare to say farewell to Adam.

Please continue to encourage and look after each other and if any one of you who may also be enduring difficult times or loss to please reach out to someone you trust and reach out to the wellness branch at DFES or pick up the phone and call us here at the Association. If we can’t help you, we will support you in getting the help and support you need. As our volunteers you dedicate yourselves to your service and your communities, and we as your Association are here to advocate, support and care for you.

Thank you,

Tim.

State Easter Championships Wrap Up:

This year saw the State Easter Champs held in glorious Bunbury. It was a fantastic weekend of competition. Our friends Oakford Volunteer Bushfire Brigade joined us for operational events and we hope to see them again next year.

Division Winners:

Operational: Mandurah VFRS

Dry Work: Harvey VFRS

Hose and Reel: Harvey VFRS

Wet Hose: Harvey

Best Performing Female Firefighter: Kaley McDonald Kellerberrin VFRS

Champion Firefighter: Brodie Hewer Harvey VFRS

Overall Winners: Harvey VFRS

Overall Second Place: South Kalgoorlie VFRS

Overall Third Place: Kambalda VFRS

A huge thank you to John Kowal and Bunbury VFRS for hosting and supporting the competition, and to all the judges and officials for their time.

Full results will be uploaded to the website soon.

Can't wait to do it all again next year!

Photos courtesy of Goldfields Volunteer Fire and Rescue Running Competition

May Executive Meeting

May's Executive meeting was held on 3rd May online. A number of topics were discussed including:

Training and academey issues
Station replacement and works- if you are having issues with builds or renovations please speak with your AO, if no progress then please get in touch with the Association.
OEP review- ongoing, the Association reaffirms they will not accept any Brigades being worse off under the new scheme.
Presumptive PTSI Legislation- meetings to be set up with new Minister
AGM
Zone issues
Female Firefighters Group
Competition Report
3.4 Incident and concerns around the 3.4- The Association encourages Brigades to put your VFRs in as this builds evidence so we can see trends and become aware of issues. If brigades get a response on the VFR that they are not happy with they are to resubmit the VFR.

Please note meeting minutes are circulated to brigades, please see your captain or secretary for a copy.

The next Executive Meeting is scheduled for 2nd August.

WAFES Finalists

DFES recently released the list of finalists in this years WAFES Awards.

Congratulations to:

Firefighting Team Award:

Karratha VFRS
Mandurah VFRS
Northcliffe VFRS and VBFB

Firefighting Young Person of the Year Award:

Dylan Goldup, Kununurra VFRS
Riley Mole, Karratha VFRS

VFRS Individual Acheivement Award:

Amelia Fitzgerald, Esperance VFRS
Jamie Copeland, Pemberton VFRS
Nat Marley, Port Hedland VFRS

The WAFES Awards Gala will be held on 29th August, we can't wait to celebrate with you. Each nomination is very well deserved!

From the Admin and Social Media Officer:

Did you know we now have a 'Suggestion Box' that you can submit your suggestions, feedback and/ or questions to anonymously!

You can find it here: https://forms.gle/JaAMvRh2rEwaEyE29

Female Firefighters Group

If you're a female firefighter you are invited to join the VFRS Female Firefighters group on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/236117041980425

This group is for Volunteer Fire and Rescue Service female firefighters located all over Western Australia. This group removes the geographical distance between us all and allows us come together to motivate, share our experiences, support and inspire one another.

We are deeply honoured when our fellow male firefighters ask to join the group, and while we don't want to offend, it is for the ladies only. Although times have changed, and women are now welcomed with open arms to join VFRS, women still do have experiences and challenges unique to them, and sometimes are the only female at their brigade. This forum is a safe and understanding place for our ladies to be able to express themselves