There were 550 ACT Rural Fire Service volunteers as of June 30, with 112 joining the service since the start of the year.

ACT RFS chief officer Andrew Stark said the volunteer force was at record numbers in the capital, well above about 400 members who were on hand during the devastating 2003 bushfires.

Mr Stark said the force had a surge in volunteers around the 10-year anniversary of the fires, totalling 130 applications.

The 112 successful applicants now account for 20 per cent of the capital's current volunteer force, but Mr Stark said he had no concerns over their lack of experience.

''Last year, we gave out 176 medals to people who have done more than 10 years with the Rural Fire Service,'' he said.

''More than a third of the force has more than a decade of experience and certainly that includes experience from the 2003 fires.''

Mr Stark said new recruits spent several weekends undergoing a formal training course, while individual brigades held sessions once a fortnight.

He said some members also had interstate experience.

''Often people come, even if they're new to the ACT, they've been members of the NSW fire service or the CFA [Country Fire Authority] in Victoria,'' he said.

But concerns over lack of experience have been raised by Val Jeffery. The former Tharwa bushfire brigade captain, who retired last year after almost four decades at the helm, said he was ''desperately worried'' about the impending bushfire season in the capital.

''We haven't had any major fires of any consequence for 10 years,'' he said.

''There's very few people left with experience in real fires.''

Mr Jeffery said training for new volunteers was good, but it could not replace the experience gained on the ground at a fire front.

''I don't care about how much book training you've had,'' Mr Jeffery said.

''It doesn't replace experience on the fire ground.''

The ACT Rural Fire Service currently has 160 volunteers helping efforts interstate, the bulk of whom have been sent to the Blue Mountains.