starting a cadet group

[Baxter]

I was recently asked by a Brigade Training Coordinator about how does one start a cadet group in the their Brigade

My answer was at the time; was ask the kids of the current members to come along and have a go. After thinking about it today what would be some of the things that you would do now if your involved with cadets to get them excited about being a cadets or you like to see done if you not involved with cadets. The other aspects is what resources would you use in your cadet program

[SA Firey]

Firstly having members with kids that are interested in becoming a CFS member is a continuation of generations of families who have served their community well.
Cadets is a great way to encourage this and it also provides them with confidence and a desire to learn new skills.As a former Cadet Training Officer it is ideal to have a maximum of 12 in the brigade.If you dont have enough in the brigade, enquire about other brigades within your group who dont have cadets if they want to join your cadet group.

There are budget allocations in most groups to provide PPE etc for cadets and training.

Cadets are aged between 11 & 18, and training is usually held on a night which doesnt clash with normal brigade training 1830-1930 hrs.

As for what resources you would use,you have a station full of appliances and equipment as well as Group resources.Train the cadets in exactly what the adults are trained hose drills,mock exercises,PR visits,communications,lectures and videos on fire behaviour,Deadman Zone,the list is endless and all you need to do is be creative with the exercises and add a bit of fun to it.

[Pipster]

The key to having a successful cadet unit is to have an interested person / people who are willing to look after the cadet side of things, and actually be suitable to train kids.

There are various bits of information about dealing with cadets, various ideas / activities etc - the Regional Office should have this stuff.

However, I actually disagree with many of the suggested cadet activities.   Many of the suggestions are for things not really related to CFS - but more to Scouts.

If a kid wants to become a CFS cadet, then they should be doing CFS activities, not Scout activities. - As SA firey said, do CFS activities.  They may need to be modified a little to suit particularly the smaller / younger kids, but they are all still CFS type activities.

Depending on the age and maturity of cadets, some of them may train with the adults, or they may be separated to a specific cadet training - depends on individual cadets, and individual brigades as to what suits best.

Pip

[chinabone]

I Agree with all the above and me only just becoming a firefighter recently i know how it feels to be one i am now just a cadetsto help and give a hand.all the activiteies should be related to cfs UNLESS there team and trust games were i think it is a good time to tune out from just fires and all that stuf
Traning need to move on quick and not just sit on same subject for the whole night anyway must got now
cheers Bayden