By CASEY NEILL
Caption: First Lieutenant Terence Sanford leads multicultural education on fire in the Noble Park community.
NOBLE Park Fire Brigade is going above and beyond to engage the suburb’s multicultural community.
First Lieutenant Terence Sanford was among four CFA representatives at the Federation of Ethnic Communities’ Councils of Australia conference on the Gold Coast last month, attended by 400 people from across Australia.
The theme was Multiculturalism: Breaking down the Barriers – a cause close to Mr Sanford’s heart.
“Noble Park is just so multicultural and apparently only 30 per cent of Noble Park speak English as their first language,” he said.
This is a challenge for his fire crew in emergency situations.
Mr Sandford said he learnt a lot from the trip, particularly about the issues migrants faced in their homelands.
“Why they came and the different struggles or barriers that they face coming to a totally new country, not even speaking the language, having no skills, trying to find work, trying to find a place to live … ” he said.
“Even just finding the services that are available to them.
“They get out here and they’re a bit isolated.”
The Noble Park brigade and the CFA as a whole is focused on community education.
“If we can help stop emergencies by educating on fire safety, we don’t have to turn out on the truck as much,” he said.
Mr Sanford and his crew visited Noble Park English Language School last month to teach classes about calling triple zero, smoke detectors and more.
“I would come in in my full turnout gear with the breathing apparatus on, because it’s very confronting, especially for children,” he said.
“If we come in during a house fire we don’t want them to be scared of us.
“We want them to know that we’re there to help.”
There were up to four interpreters in the room during each class.
“So I’d make a joke and we’d have to wait for them to interpret it and then the kids would burst out laughing,” Mr Sanford said.
“They want us to come back and do three or four through next year.
“We’re getting a lot achieved.”
The 25-member brigade is also eyeing attracting new recruits through community activities.
“It’s about getting out in the community and letting people know we’re here and letting them know that we’re all volunteers,” he said.
“We’re on call 24-7.
“Trying to get members in this area is hard for a couple of reasons – the multicultural demographic, and a lot of students move in, rent for a few years and move away.”
About 90 per cent of the brigade’s members signed on less than two years ago.
“We’re a very young brigade at the moment, but very enthusiastic,” Mr Sanford said.
“We’re doing extremely well compared to where we were five or six years ago.
“We do anywhere between 160 to 200 jobs per year. That’s an average of three or four a week.”
But new members don’t have to actually get on a truck to help out – they can help with fund-raising activities or support firefighters during incidents, he said.
Visit www.cfa.vic.gov.au for more information about joining the crew and an expression of interest form.
