VOLUNTEER numbers are dwindling at Werribee CFA after it split to form a second branch in Wyndham Vale last year.
The number of volunteer firefighters has fallen from 80 to 55, of whom about 30 regularly respond to call-outs.
Firefighter Lisa Bubb says Werribee CFA is among the busiest brigades that rely entirely on volunteers, averaging up to 800 call-outs a year.
More than 250 of its call-outs are major road crashes.
Ms Bubb has been handing out flyers to Werribee residents and businesses in a bid to attract new recruits.
“We need more numbers, especially when the fire season comes up,”
she said. “We need to know that we have enough crew because if we have another Black Saturday, we need enough to be sent away and enough to stay on the home front.”
Since enlisting as a firey at Werribee CFA last year, Ms Bubb has responded to more than 150 call-outs including house fires, car wrecks and recently, helping someone stuck in a lift at a nursing home.
“I think it’s great getting out there, especially when you see how thankful people are,” she said.
“We’re like a big family, everybody supports each other. We go out there and we’re helping the community. That’s what we’re here for. Our motto is ‘One size fits all’. House mums, shift workers … anybody can do it.”
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