In these times of shortages and panic buying, it's important to know what truly is essential in life.
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Fresh food, petrol and toilet paper might be things that spring to mind for most.
But never run out of trained, competent firefighters, even if your life depended on it - because someday, it just might.
Gloucester Fire and Rescue station 303 is looking for volunteers to fill a shortfall of on-call firefighters within their ranks.
"We're looking for a few people because we're a bit short staffed at the moment," said deputy captain, Michael Fenning, a 15 year veteran of Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW), the last seven spent with the Gloucester station.
The role requires personnel to live close to Gloucester to allow for rapid response times to call-outs, with those who can provide daytime availability, Monday to Friday being highly sought after.
For those eager to accept the challenge, the rewards can be varied and gratifying.
Contrary to popular perception, FRNSW does more than just fight fires. Personnel are trained in hazardous materials management, urban search and rescue, medical assistance, counter-terrorism, safety education and more.
But most of all, it performs a tremendous service to the community.
"The recognised training you get in firefighting, first aid, rescue, and also helping the township is all valuable," Michael said, discussing the role. "In the next couple of weeks we're going to have an information night that station. But we haven't got dates in concrete yet.".
If you are interested in joining go to the Fire and Rescue NSW website and follow the prompts.
READ MORE: Firefighter recruitment
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