Country Fire Service volunteers plead for respect on frontline as bushfire season begins

For almost 50 years Shaun Arnold has volunteered for his local Country Fire Service, but more recently he has become aware of an element of the job he does not like.

The captain of the Waikerie brigade in South Australia's Riverland said verbal abuse from the public was causing some volunteers to quit, a reality he does not want as fire danger season gets underway.

The verbal abuse usually occurred at crash sites and other emergency scenes, where CFS volunteers would man road closure signs and direct traffic, Mr Arnold said.

Younger people, particularly young women, seemed to be the ones targeted the most – including his own daughter, he said.

Mr Arnold has had enough.

"We get a lot of four-letter language," the CFS captain said.

"Some of our younger members don't want to go to the accident site.

 "Some of them take offence to it, a couple have left because of it."

Mr Arnold's daughter Samantha Whittington, a CFS volunteer, said she has had to get the police involved on numerous occasions. 

"It's not my fault, I'm just a volunteer trying to do the best I can."

The 28-year-old, who has been with the brigade since she was 11, said other motorists have had to assist her in calming down those hurling abuse. 

"I was getting called some not very nice names, and another truck driver turned around and said, 'Oi, she's just doing her job … [don't] yell abuse,'" she said. 

'Severe' penalties for abuse of volunteers

Ms Whittington said while most motorists understood volunteers were there to help, it was the poor behaviour of the few that was taking its toll. 

She said some of her experiences included "impatient" motorists speeding through crash sites, ignoring road closure signs or rolling down windows to unload their frustration on, often young, volunteers.

Brenton Hastie, the acting deputy chief officer at the South Australian Country Fire Service, said any abuse towards volunteers was "an extremely serious offence". 

"CFS volunteers are covered by legislation as a prescribed emergency worker," he said. 

"We work closely with SAPOL where those instances [of abuse] occur … and the penalties for doing so are severe." 

Volunteers at a decade low 

The Waikerie brigade has seen a downturn in volunteer numbers, which comes at a time when volunteer numbers across the state have hit a decade low. 

The organisation has 12,982 volunteers compared to 13,928 in 2015, according to its latest 2024-25 data.

Dwindling numbers is a challenging reality for Monash CFS captain Dave Otto de Grancy, who describes himself as "the proudest CFS captain in the state".

He has been a volunteer at the Riverland-based brigade since 1986, but said it had the "lowest numbers on record" this year. 

Mr Otto de Grancy said it had meant he had had to default to Adelaide at times, which was the "worst feeling in the world". 

"You feel like you've let your whole community down." 

Mr Otto de Grancy said he had tried everything to engage new volunteers, including visiting schools and holding open days "that [were] never attended".

It was a similar situation in the state's south-east, with Nangwarry facing closure because volunteer numbers had dropped to three active members in July. 

Education campaign wanted

Mr Otto de Grancy said he wanted to see a media blitz by the CFS to drive volunteer numbers. 

"The corporate entity of the CFS really needs to get out there and start supporting us," he said. 

CFS deputy chief officer Brenton Hastie said while he acknowledged there had been a dip in numbers, the organisation was "bucking the national trend" in relation to volunteer decline. 

"Whilst we have seen a small decline over a 10-year period, we are still training 700 new firefighters in any given year," he said. 

"We have heard calls [for TV advertising], but much like our Be Bushfire Ready campaign, large expensive TV campaigns have limited effect.

"It's not to dismiss that it would add some value, we're just seeing good results through a community-based approach, and that's what we're looking to focus on." 

Mr Hastie also said the introduction of six volunteer officers in each region was working to address "specific recruiting challenges".

CFS Volunteers Association state president Jeff Clark said the organisation had spent many years investigating alternative means to engaging additional volunteers, particularly in regional areas. 

"Brigades closer to Adelaide can draw from a larger pool of people wishing to be a CFS volunteer … some of these brigades have waiting lists," he said.

Mr Clark said the introduction of reserve brigades to deploy members to regional areas in need of more support would be ideal. 

Mr Hastie said the CFS regularly reviewed suggestions and remained open to exploring initiatives that further strengthened its capability.

Minister for Emergency Services Emily Bourke said the state government was actively looking at ways to boost volunteers, including recruitment campaigns. 

'We want to get home too'

Back in the Riverland, Shaun Arnold hopes more is done to entice people to get involved with their local CFS and that actionable change is made to reduce roadside abuse. 

"If you volunteer, you don't have to go and see the horrible stuff, there's plenty of other volunteer work to do," he said. 

"We do get a lot of abuse towards members … and we get a lot of people who want to speed through and don't slow down. 

"We want to get home too."