Last summer's devastating bushfires pushed Victoria's emergency authorities, many of which rely on volunteers, to their limits.
The Black Summer fires burnt more than 1 million hectares and killed 11 firefighters.
But in a silver lining, a new crop of Victorian volunteer firefighters have stepped up to serve.
Victoria's Country Fire Authority (CFA) has reported more than 2,000 new volunteers have signed up since the last fire season.
About one third of those are women.
This is up from 15 per cent female participation among CFA volunteers in recent years.
One of the women in the new wave of CFA recruits is Lauren Pitts, who joined her local Leongatha brigade in Victoria's South Gippsland region motivated by the catastrophic fires.
"There's a few of us that know each other quite well so we thought we'd give it a go together," she said.
She is one of seven new Leongatha CFA brigade members — a 50 per cent boost to the small brigade's numbers.
'Go and do it, it's worth it'
Brigade captain Dale Carruthers spent last summer battling fires in New South Wales and East Gippsland, and is pleased with the surge in new recruits.
"People are getting older and as time goes on, they leave the CFA, so we've always needed to have that new intake of training," he said.
Ms Pitts admitted volunteering was time consuming, but said if everyone gave a little bit of time it could have major benefits for the community.
"It's not too much to ask with a little bit of spare time," she said.
"If you can spare it, go and do it, it's worth it."
But 2020 threw up a unique set of challenges for new recruits with only one third of CFA volunteers able to complete mandatory training.
"They all turned up to a recruitment drive back in February and they've been hanging out this whole time, waiting for the course to start, because of COVID," Mr Carruthers said.
The new Leongatha CFA members are among only 364 new volunteers who were able to complete their foundation firefighter course which would allow them to attend fires.
Retaining volunteers a challenge
Despite the 2,000 new recruits this year, the CFA still face a worrying shortfall.
According to its 2019-20 annual report, the organization lost 3,500 firefighters — the largest drop since 2013.
It came after a bitter political fight over a restructure which took effect in July last year and new training requirements for volunteers, which many volunteers did not meet.
The CFA was not the only emergency volunteer agency which struggled to maintain members.
Dr John Bates, a long term Essendon Victorian State Emergency Service volunteer, said about one third of new SES recruits do not stay long-term because they often do not understand the training requirements and time commitments.
"There is a commitment to it," he said.
Another reason could be the significant mental health impact on volunteers — especially when exposed to trauma.
Dr Bates is with the Bushfire and Natural Hazards Cooperative Research Centre, working on a new project looking into this.
"The longer that you've been in an organisation and longer you've been exposed to trauma, the more likely it is your mental health will begin to deteriorate," he said.
"I think as we go forward you'll see an even bigger focus on the research around caring for [volunteers]," he said.
