THE CFA has denied accusations of incompetency over systemic issues of lost volunteer firefighter training records that have led to firefighters being blocked from attending fires.
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Twenty-five Victorian fire brigades have complained about lost training records by the CFA, onerous repeat training requests, and bullying, with fears the long-running record-keeping bungle would lead to a serious firefighter shortage in summer.
Two members of western district fire brigades, who declined to speak on the record over fears of retribution, alleged 15 members of its brigade were requested to repeat training after the documents were lost, resulting in several members quitting their volunteer position due to the onerous training pressures.
"It's like we have a court case and speaking out could jeopardise our position," the captain said.
"I have no doubt we won't win but we need to give it a crack - the whole process frustrates the hell out of you."
One member of the brigade was expected to repeat the entire advanced structural training after it was discovered one module of the training had been incomplete.
"The CFA is an absolute mess and they need to sort themselves out," the firefighter said.
"They're great at protecting themselves, just not their volunteers.
"The strange thing is that there has been no documentation - it has all been verbal."
Stepping down
The issues are taking a toll on firefighters, including Elphinstone Fire Brigade's Andy Chapman, who will retire next year after 33 years as captain and 54 years as a firefighter.
"This organisation has been so smashed to bits and you can't unscramble an egg," Mr Chapman said.
"I don't sing the CFA praises anymore, which is sad.
"Every time we have a crack at an issue, they throw the volunteer code of conduct at us, when they should be reading it themselves before they accuse us of being outside our values."
Mr Chapman said his final straw was when his daughter Leah Chapman became unwell at a fire last summer, working in steep country, and was taken to hospital with health issues.
"We didn't hear a peep of support from the CFA - it was pathetic," he said.
A volunteer from Flinders' brigade, based on Victoria's Mornington Peninsula, was dispatched to a strike team to assist with a fire reduction burn near Hamilton, in Victoria's south west, in the summer but was pulled from the team on the way to the fire after the CFA identified he had not completed a online module of the general firefighter training.
Flinders Fire Brigade captain David Hunt said when the brigade raised concerns with CFA leadership.
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Another active Flinders firefighter was prevented from joining a strike team unless he repeated his general firefighter training after the paperwork was lost, while a new recruit has recently withdrawn from the brigade over lost paperwork.
"In the end, it took us five weeks and they found some common sense but it was a fight and the guy was about to walk away from the CFA as a volunteer," Mr Hunt said.
"It's a morale issue now because it is buggerising with the volunteers and stuffing them around.
"It could lead to a volunteer shortage because there aren't many new members joining and those who are older."
CFA Restructure
Several CFA volunteers told ACM the administration issues were due to the controversial reforms for firefighting in Victoria that were introduced in 2020, but CFA acting chief Garry Cook said that was "jumping at shadows".
The restructure, which established the CFA as a volunteer-only organisation and its former paid members joining Fire Rescue Victoria, has been fraught with issues in Victoria, according to several brigade captains.
The CFA's previously-paid staff and commanders are now seconded back from FRV to run the country's firefighting service.
But Mr Cook told 3AW the paperwork blunder was a "transaction" issue after the program received 43 complaints of lost training records.
"I haven't got the details of those 43 [brigades] and I'd appreciate getting them somehow," he said.
"What happened at Mount Cameron I couldn't say it couldn't happen at another location.
"We train tens of thousands of volunteers annually and it's a paper-based assessment process that relies on data entry back at the station."
Mr Cook said the CFA was looking at introducing devices for instructors to upload training records on the spot.
"We are happy to hear from anybody with a similar issue," he said.
"We love what our volunteers do and we tip our hats to them.
"We want to make sure we are looking after the people who look after the rest of Victoria."
Mount Cameron
The training record issue was exposed by the Mount Cameron Brigade, based in central Victoria, last week, after a year-long battle to recognise the prior learning of three of its active firefighters went unresolved.
Mount Cameron Brigade community safety officer John Bedwell said there could be serious firefighter shortages if the issue wasn't fixed.
"If our brigade is any indication, that will be the case," he said.
"We need sustainable memberships coming through and how do you aspire to an organisation that can't get basic admin right?
"We will still do our roles in our local communities but it is the big fires that volunteers come from across the state - they just won't be there."