Joel Sartor, Nell Duly and Rob Dalzer joined the brigade at the start of the year but have now completed their basic firefighting training and are ready to hit the streets.

Hanwood RFS now has 23 active members, all working under Captain Adam Bertolissi.

Captain Bertolissi explained the process of joining the brigade.

"When you join up, there's a probation period of learning. It's approximately six months and during that period, it's all about learning how to put fires out safely and learning how to work within our team environment," he said.

"They learn how to put out grass fires, bush fires. They learn all the basics. Now that they've done that, they can stay at that level or they can branch off and do more courses where they learn about structures and village fires."

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While having the new recruits is good, Captain Bertolissi is always searching for more volunteers to join the crew. His goal is to have around 30 active members, in order to man the three trucks effectively.

"We're always looking for more because we can't guarantee having enough. With the numbers we've got, we can get around six members to a job, but that's not always enough."

Hanwood trains every Thursday night at their station on Oaks Road, and anyone interested in volunteering is encouraged to attend and register their interest.

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