Left to right: Ash & Alanah Cant, Niko & Belinda Jouhki and Marc Dankers
Leonards Hill and District Fire Brigade has received a welcome boost, with several new members joining in recent months after making the move from the city.
Brigade Captain Marc Dankers said the new members had arrived at an important time for the brigade after several years of recruitment challenges.
"We've been struggling over the past few years with people moving out of the area, so welcoming new members recently has been a huge uplift for our brigade," Marc said.
The recruits include two couples who recently moved from Melbourne and became neighbours, social worker Alanah Cant and her husband Ash, a train driver, and gardener Belinda Jouhki and her husband Niko, an MMU Operator. Belinda and Niko's daughter Lara has also joined CFA as a Junior recruit.
Also joining recently is Sebastian Streat who is following in his grandfather Barry Phypers footsteps, who is still an active member with the brigade.
Alanah said joining the brigade felt like a natural step after moving to the area.
"We wanted to meet people in our new community and get a better understanding of the area and of our land," Alanah said.
"After having an incident on our property and seeing how the brigade responded, it really inspired my husband and I to get involved."
Belinda Jouhki said joining the brigade was something she and Niko decided to do alongside Alanah and Ash.
"We got the pamphlet in the mail and thought we might have a look, and then Alanah and Ash came over and said they were interested too, so we all decided to go along," Belinda said.
"I thought it was the perfect opportunity to get some training and learn some new skills," she said.
Niko Jouhki said volunteering was also about giving something back and becoming part of the local community.
"We wanted to give something back to the community and meet new people," Niko said.
"I'm a mechanic by trade, so I thought maybe my skills could be useful down the track."
"Our daughter's keen to get involved too, so it's become a bit of a family journey for us," Niko said.
Marc said the brigade was excited to welcome the new members and see them begin their CFA journey.
"These new members have brought great energy to the brigade, and it's been fantastic to see them wanting to be part of the local community," Marc said.
CFA volunteer brigades play a vital role in protecting communities across Victoria, with members responding to fires, road crashes, storms and other emergencies.
Anyone interested in volunteering with CFA can learn more at cfa.vic.gov.au/volunteer-careers.
