Edithvale Firefighter Mark Heatley showcasing CFA equipment to visiting Japanese Firefighter Takashi Kitagawa.
Japanese volunteer firefighter Takashi Kitagawa travelled to CFA’s District 8 to gain insight into Australian firefighting and its volunteer emergency services.
While visiting Australia on a university internship, Takashi took the opportunity to learn more about CFA after attending the AFAC Conference.
Through connections made with CFA members at the event, he arranged a visit to better understand how the organisation operates.
Takashi has been a member of the Yokohama Volunteer Fire Corps 7th Squad, 1st Branch for about a year and has a strong interest in fire services around the world.
In particular, he was keen to learn about brigade structures, training, bushfires and CFA’s specialised equipment.
The visit was coordinated by the South East Region Volunteer Sustainability Team, who organised a trip to District 8, including a tour and demonstration at Edithvale Fire Brigade.
Takashi said the trip highlighted the unique challenges faced by both organisations but that underpinning both was a commitment to community.
“It is similar in cooperating with local community,” he said.
“In Japan we secure the summer festival and communicate, chatting with local community and to establishing a good relationship.
“CFA is also doing lots of events during the year and I saw on Instagram the CFA make good relationships between the local community.”
Takashi also said the areas covered by CFA brigades are often much larger than those serviced by volunteer fire units in Japan.
“The area each fire station covers is very different,” Takashi said.
“In Japan, we have a lot of what we call Kisai Goya, which is like a small shed. Not big like a lot of stations in this area.
“We mostly do restaurant and house fires, not bushfires, so I’m really interested about the equipment and the techniques, which is maybe different from Japanese style.”
Like many CFA members, Takashi’s decision to become a firefighter was driven by a desire to serve his community.
“I’m now 20 and I’m a university student and I want to contribute,” Takashi said.
“I really want to contribute to my community and the people, but my parents don’t want me to be in law enforcement or first responder because it’s a little bit dangerous compared to other jobs.
“So when searching how to contribute to community, we found out that there is a position of volunteer firefighter, and my parents are okay for me to be that kind of responder, so I try, and I enlist.”
Reflecting on his visit, Takashi expressed his gratitude to CFA and its volunteers for hosting the experience.
“I learned so much during my visit, and I hope to put my new knowledge I gained into practice with my own brigade and use it to better serve our local community in Japan.”
SER VST member Olivia Duffey also welcomed the opportunity to host an international volunteer firefighter.
“It is not often that you come across an international volunteer firefighter and have the opportunity to create an experience that benefits both our volunteers and our visitors,” Olivia said.
“We welcome firefighters who are interested in connecting with CFA while visiting Australia, and would like to thank Edithvale Fire Brigade for their time in helping create this experience.
“We hope Takashi enjoys the rest of his visit and is able to take away valuable information, videos and photos that will benefit his own community.”
