It's the time of year when the Rural Fire Service gets asked time and time again what it takes to become a volunteer firefighter.
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It takes many things - not least of which are fitness, training and courage - to be a volunteer firefighter, but it also takes time.
In the midst of this fire emergency, there is no time to train new volunteers.
The trainers are the ones currently saving homes and lives, or providing crucial information to the public to ensure they're safe.
In the ACT, before it's too late, there is something residents can do.
After the bushfires tore through the capital in 2003, ACT emergency services set up what's known as community fire units.
Community fire units are comprised of residents on the urban fringe who are trained and equipped by ACT Fire and Rescue to prepare and defend their homes, and those belonging to their neighbours, against the threat of bushfires.
Volunteers take preventative action, including developing survival plans and cleaning gutters.
During fires they help buy valuable time for emergency services by tackling blazes near their home until firefighters arrive.
There are calls for more volunteers to join these units in an effort to protect the fringe suburbs from bushfires. Is your suburb in need?
Volunteers receive ongoing training from ACT Fire and Rescue but the initial process to join consists of a four-hour online learning course and a one-day practical training session at the Hume Training Centre.
There are calls for more volunteers to join these units in an effort to protect the fringe suburbs from bushfires. The map, published online today, provides information from the fire services on where people are needed to bolster numbers. Are you in a bushfire prone suburb? Is your suburb in need?
It's no coincidence that Chapman, which was hit particularly hard by the 2003 Canberra bushfires, has the highest number of units and volunteers, with seven and 120 respectively.
You can play a part in helping in this fire emergency. The raging, unpredictable blazes haven't yet reached the city of Canberra, but from past experience we know they can and this season, it's quite possible they will.
It's important to be prepared and know what to do if you're in a bushfire. If you can't join the community fire units in Canberra, make sure your bushfire survival plan is ready to put into action.