Community
10 December, 2025
Grant benefits Apostles Group
THE Country Fire Authority (CFA) Apostles Group are one of the vital emergency volunteer services to receive a share in a grant allowing them to replace one of their older forward command vehicles.
The Volunteer Emergency Services Equipment Program (VESEP) grant covers funding for essential equipment, vehicles, appliances and minor facility improvements for volunteer emergency services.
Apostles Group deputy group officer Phil Downie said the $71,000 grant would allow them to get a new forward command vehicle as one of their current vehicles is 15 years old and due for a changeover.
“There’s two of them in the Apostles Group now because the Timboon group and Cobden amalgamated six months ago,” he said.
“These are used to go on strike teams away from the area to take a strike team leader and a driver to support the tankers that go away on a strike team.
“It carries extra cold water, a small battery powered chainsaw, first aid and various other small things in the back that there’s not enough room on tankers to take all those sorts of things.
“It’s pretty handy to get around and give support to brigades when they’ve got an incident happening.”
Mr Downie said the vehicle was also used by brigade members to get to meetings in Colac, which is the head district for the area.
He also said the CFA was struggling with volunteer numbers due to an aging population and hoped more younger people would take the initiative to sign up to their local brigade.
“The CFA are made of up volunteers and unfortunately at the moment we’re struggling a bit,” Mr Downie said.
“It’s corporate farms and blue gum plantations and everything – they’re taking the population away.
“Our cohort is getting older as well, so we do need younger people to feel confident to join the CFA and be involved in protecting the community otherwise we’re going to really struggle.
“It’s sometimes difficult to get trucks out the door with the people we’ve got now because they’re all busy with farms and they’re occupied doing other things.
“It’s an ongoing problem, getting new people to come and join up.”
For more information on volunteering with the CFA, visit https://www.cfa.vic.gov.au/volunteers-careers/volunteer-with-cfa.