The Mornington Fire Brigade holds training for all members every Monday Evening from 7:30pm - 9:30pm. People wishing to join the brigade are encouraged to come along to these sessions to introduce themselves and to meet the team here at the Mornington Fire Brigade. Brigade monthly meetings are held on the second Monday of each month from 7:30 pm onwards.

All operational members of the Brigade are required to undergo "Recruit Training" prior to becoming full "emergency responders" with the Brigade.

What does this mean? Before a new member is permitted to respond to an emergency without a qualified member guiding them, each member must complete training which is centred on the following skills:

• Understanding wildfire behaviour

• Applying wildfire suppression strategies and tactics

• Communications & radio operation

• Personal protection techniques and fire-ground safety

• Map reading

Having completed this training, members are encouraged to participate in regular brigade training each Monday, and may also go on to more specialised training courses such as driver training, breathing apparatus and First Aid courses. All training is aligned with national competency standards established by the Public Safety Training Package and the Country Fire Authority. This means that all training we undertake is recognised in other industries throughout Australia.

Why does this sound so serious? Because every time we respond to an emergency we are placing Brigade Members at risk in our pursuit to "Protect life and property". Fortunately through training and experience we reduce the risk and guard our members' safety. You may see crews conducting drills around Mornington on Monday nights. This is part of on-going skills maintenance for all the skills levels reached by members. There are many different roles on the fire ground, skill maintenance prepare members for real-world incidents.