By Romy Stephens
As Upper Ferntree Gully Fire Brigade’s Chris Lind reflected on his Firefighter of the Year award, he dedicated it to the NSW Rural Fire Service.
Chris received the prestigious award at the brigades annual dinner and awards night on 17 November, for his exceptional work ethic and recent efforts in NSW.
He drove an 11,000-litre tanker to help fight fires during the state’s unprecedented start to its bushfire season.
“There was one guy, in particular, I spoke to up there and I said to him pretty much how are you going?” Chris recalled.
“He said I’ve been fighting this fire for five weeks and I’ve had two days off.
“They’re doing it really tough up there and it sort of makes you want to go straight back up.”
Some other notable awards recipients on the night included Darren Johson (10 years of service) and Peter Jetson (20 years of service).
Peter said he was surprised yet honoured to receive his service award.
“I honestly don’t know what to say, I can’t believe it’s been 20 years since I rolled in,” he said.
“There’s been a lot of things that have happened, I’ve met a lot of great people.
“That’s the big thing about CFA. Everyone’s in it for the right reasons, everyone is just fantastic and the support has been great.”
Other awards were presented to Amber Johnson (five years of service), Alex Turner (five years of service), Dominic Loughman (best first-year firefighter), Kylie Bracey (best first-year firefighter) and Dylan Knowles (utility firefighter).
Appreciation awards went to Katie and Troy from Bakers delight, Pat Bigham, Chris Willman and Ruth Lewis.
Upper Ferntree Fire Brigade Captain Peter Smith said the brigade is currently the “strongest it’s ever been.”
“We have over 1000 years of service in this room,” he said.
“To all our members, the newer members, the older members, it’s a great team at the moment.”
“The way we work at the moment is just fantastic.”
The Upper Ferntree Gully Fire Brigade is a Volunteer Fire Service and has served the community since 1926.
