Aussie Pumps extends their congratulations to Christmas Hills Fire Brigade on winning the Aussie ‘What Motivates a CFA Volunteer’ competition. The brigade will receive an Aussie Fire Captain high-pressure firefighting pump, part of the company’s ‘Red Brigade’ product line.
As readers of volunteer firefighter newspapers, the company has come to know and understand more about how this superb volunteer organisation works. ‘The more we get to understand the CFA and people giving up their free time to train and fight fires, the more we realise what a huge debt the community owes to these selfless men and women who put their lives in the line of fire every summer,’ said Aussie Pumps’ Brad Farrugia.
Aussie’s Salute to Volunteers’ competition was announced in May. The company probed some of the key brigades just to see how they felt about it before presenting the idea.
‘First we thought we would just offer special discounts for brigades wanting to buy direct. That somehow seemed a little too commercial so we decided to award a prize to brigades who could express in the most eloquent and succinct terms exactly what makes an ordinary citizen take on the role of heroic volunteer firefighter,’ said Farrugia.
The company was surprised that so many brigades responded.
The winning entry came from the Christmas Hills Fire Brigade, which has a long history of active women firefighters going back to the late 1970s. It’s one of three CFA brigades to elect a woman in the role of Captain. Today the brigade has a female Lieutenant, female driver educator, and a four-wheel drive qualified tanker and Ultralight driver! The brigade often fields an all-female crew.
The winning entry was submitted by Liz Mildenhall, one of the 17 female firefighters at Christmas Hills. Liz’s quote: ‘Motivated to learn about fire behaviour and suppression after the devastating Black Saturday bushfires, we women joined the Christmas Hills Brigade. Ten years later with more knowledge and skills under our belts we feel our efforts are valued, enjoy the team work and feel safer living in our beautiful bush.’
Congratulations to you ladies for the inspiration you provide.
For more information, go to www.aussiepumps.com.au
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