The ACT Volunteer Brigades Association (the VBA) is a not-for-profit charity which provides a forum for its member volunteer firefighting brigades of the Australian Capital Territory Rural Fire Service (ACTRFS) and individual members to come together to raise issues of concern on behalf of their volunteer rural firefighter members.
There are more than 500 volunteer rural firefighters, 19% of whom are women, within the ACTRFS. Most of our volunteers work in paid employment across a range of professions and careers including policing, ambulance, career firefighting, nursing, the law, the ADF, and across the public service and private sectors. Many of our volunteers are retirees, while others are school and university students.
Our volunteer firefighters give generously and freely of their time to protect life, community, property and the environment from bush and grass fires across Canberra and within the Territory’s rural areas. Our volunteer firefighters are also frequently deployed interstate and internationally to assist with bush and wildfire fighting efforts outside our local communities and overseas.
The ACT VBA aims to provide a voice for our volunteer firefighters and works to ensure a ‘fair go’ for them, to improve volunteer morale and well-being, and to generally further the best interests of our firefighters. We want to help ensure that our volunteer firefighters are best placed to assist and protect our local communities and to lend a hand when needed, to national and international communities.
Without the united efforts of our volunteers, our country would be less safe, hospitable, friendly and sustainable. We value community.
The ACT VBA is run by ACTRFS volunteer firefighters.
