A controversial email ordering a ban on state opposition MP’s from speaking at official CFA functions has been played down by officials.

Volunteers have vowed to defy the request, regardless.

Neil Mitchell said it highlighted just how ‘toxic’ things were within the state’s firefighting ranks at present.

The email, sent by a junior staffer, instructed brigades that politicians from the opposition weren’t allowed to speak at official events.

New CFA chief Frances Diver has distanced herself from the email, but told Neil Mitchell it wasn’t an earth-shattering request.

‘This was simply an email to reinforce a long held protocol that tries to protect the CFA from being used for political purposes,’ she said on 3AW Mornings.

But Shane, who has been a volunteer for 25 years, said he’d never received such a directive before.

‘It’s censorship,’ he said.

Click PLAY below to hear Shane speak with Neil Mitchell