Last official figures I saw was almost 16,000 members (but not 16,000 firefighters)
As for the 18,000 members previously, many of them were ladies auxiliary - who did catering and fundraising...with most brigades around the state having many auxiliary members.
A big clean up of membership records was done several years ago and the numbers dropped from around 18,000, to somewhere around 15,000. At the time the cleanup was done, the actual number of people on the ground didn't really change much....they just removed names of people who were residing in the cemetery, the local nursing home, some other state etc etc.....
So when the CFS now talk of around 16,000 members, and around 11,000 firefighters. The rest are Ops Support and cadets. Although this is not a good indicator if available resources, as many Ops Support people are radio operators, IMT personnel etc, who are actively and directly participating in the firefighting effort....
As for cleaning up properties - over 75% of the land burnt in the Proper Bay fire was PRIVATE land...not DEH. And having been in the exact area only two days before this fire, there were many many business owners and householders who had certainly not grasped the bushfire ready message, and had done nothing to prepare their properties against fire
Despite what some high profile locals have said in the media, it is not the Native vegetation Act that stops people from cutting the grass on their properties!!
Pip
