Australian Firefighters International

News

The last few months have been hectic, but also very successful for AFIRE. After a lot of preparation, at the start of March 7 AFIRE members made the trip to Cambodia to provide training to firefighters in both Phnom Penh and Siem Reap.

This trip was a great success with over 60 firefighters from the Cambodian Fire Police and the Cambodian airports receiving training over the 2 week period. We also did a lot of work providing protective clothing to a number of the firefighters, as well as sorting out a lot of equipment that has been previously donated and was in storage, this has given us a good idea of what is required in the future. AFIRE would like to be able to provide every firefighter in Cambodia with protective clothing within the next 12 months.

A big part of this program included the introduction of Road Accident Rescue to the Cambodian National Fire Police. This involved repairs of unserviceable equipment and an intense training program into both operation of equipment and care and maintenance.

All AFIRE team members had a fantastic time, not only working with the firefighters, but also seeing the sights of Cambodia and getting a feel for the friendly culture. Many friendships were made that will last for a long time. It was also very clear this time that AFIRE's work in Cambodia over the past 18 months has been effective, with results being visible to not only us but the Cambodian Public.

The management side of AFIRE is currently undergoing a review, due to the growth of the organisation over the past 12 months, to set our selves up for future development and growth. This has been assisted by the help of Middletons, a major Melbourne law firm, who are providing pro bono services to AFIRE. More information will be available once this review is completed over the next few months.

June will see another small group of AFIRE members heading back to Cambodia to continue developing our relationship with the fire service, and work with the firefighters to equip appliances better and develop maintenance programs for the fire stations.

A wide range of AFIRE merchandise is still available for purchase including Cambodian silk products, books, dvds, caps, T Shirts and the AFIRE stubby holders. New to the list is the AFIRE Gym Singlets. Merchandise is available on eBay by searching for AFIRE (or clicking any of the eBay logos on this site), or by filling out the order form on the Shop page on the website. You can also email sales@afire.org.au> to purchase any of the AFIRE merchandise.

Get Involved

There are many ways people can get involved with AFIRE. All AFIRE Team Members volunteer their time to assist in making our projects successful. We are always looking for people with special skills to help out in the many tasks that are required to keep AFIRE running.

Here are just a few of the ways you may be able to help out:

Training

AFIRE is always looking for people who are willing to go overseas and train firefighters as part of our project teams. These people need to be experienced in firefighter training and have knowledge and skills in specific fields as it can be a demanding task working with translators and adapting to different cultures. We also need people with language skills to assist in our overseas projects

All AFIRE volunteers pay there own way on project trips, so that AFIRE funds can be put towards vital equipment and operating expenses.

Fundraising

This is an important role as funds are vital to AFIRE operations. There are many ways you can help with fundraising from selling AFIRE merchandise through to running events. We are always open to new ideas as to how we can raise these much needed funds.

Management

The AFIRE Management Team needs many specialist skills to make the organisation operate efficiently. These required skills range from accounting, Corporate management skills, legal knowledge, administration, human resources management, IT and many more.

Support Roles

There are many support roles and tasks to be filled here in Australia to help make our projects successful. This may be collecting and preparing donated equipment, transporting people or equipment to various locations, setting up and packing up events, and supporting AFIRE Teams in many other ways such as catering.

If you believe you have the skills we need and are enthusiastic to get involved a little bit or a lot, please fill out the attached Expression of Interest form (Microsoft Word format) and return it to info@afire.org.au.

Please note it may take some time to process forms, if you do not get a response in 6 to 8 weeks please send a follow up email to confirm your form has been received.

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AUSTRALIAN FIREFIGHTERS INTERNATIONAL RELIEF AND EDUCATION - TO DONATE TELEPHONE : 0438 840 908