But if you need the 2nd responders crew, why is it that some CFS Brigades will not let you join unless you are within 5 mins response time 
Given that the majority of vols are employed, & in outer-metro areas tend to be employed down in the 'burbs, it can take a full SFEC (funded) list of 1st-response members to get a minimum crew together in the required time - out the door in 4 or 6 minutes or whatever. Their real need is for more first-response people. For 2nd-response,,, well, there's the rest of the existing membership list straggling in late to fill that quota. Why would a brigade with 'full' membership "waste" their discretionary $$ on people who merely duplicate what they've already got?
Of course, if a brigade is way short of its SFEC funded strength and with little prospect of additional 1st-responder recruitment, then out-of-area members might be valuable in keeping the brigade viable as a group reserve for strike teams & etc. At least until local recruiting conditions change for the better.
In any event, I think the CFS may need to revise its minimum 1st response crew size - responding more brigades to jobs to ensure enough hands & feet arrive, especially during B/H. The requirement that a working crew must all arrive in the one vehicle from the one station is pen-pushing neatness rather than a real-world essential. As proven by the number of composite crews on strike teams over the last 2 summers. Don MacArthur's push for standard trucks & training enables just this. Plus, a stop-call on excess responders is easier & quicker to arrange than default turn-outs - as stated clearly by the RCR MoU. Better outcome for the public too.
