VICTORIA. — Twenty-three CFA members are learning the skills needed to keep Victoria’s firefighting aircraft safe and effective, as the organisation invests in the people behind the state’s aerial firefighting fleet.
The group is taking part in an Air Base Manager and Air Observer course, one of CFA’s key training pathways for members who support aviation operations during the bushfire season.
The course drew strong interest across the organisation, with 120 members applying for the 23 places on offer.
“It’s a wonderful group,” CFA Deputy Chief Officer Garry Cook AFSM said, praising the number of women taking part in the course. Among the instructors is Kelly Krajnc, the organisation’s first female Air Attack Supervisor.
With the rigorous selection process behind this year’s intake, DCO Cook said the course is designed to build a pipeline of members ready to support aviation activity across the state, reinforcing a system that becomes critical whenever bushfires threaten Victorian communities.
CFA does not operate its own firebombing aircraft – those are flown by contract pilots engaged through private aviation companies – but the organisation plays an essential role in making the aerial firefighting system work.
CFA provides the command and control structure in the air, air attack supervision, and the ground-based logistics that keep aircraft operating safely and effectively during the fire season.
