Drysdale Fire Brigade to host 80th anniversary celebration

THE Drysdale Fire Brigade will throw open its doors to the community for the first time this weekend to mark its 80th anniversary.

To be held this Sunday, November 17, the birthday celebration will begin at 10.30am with the presentation of service recognition awards to the brigade’s dedicated members.

From 11.30am, a wide variety of family-friendly activities will begin, including free face painting, a colouring competition and fire safety presentations.

Attendees will also have the opportunity to explore the brigade’s fire trucks, use a fire hose, learn more about the brigade’s history, and grab a sausage from the sausage sizzle.

The Drysdale Fire Brigade began as a small, rural brigade in 1944 and has continued to adapt over the years to meet the needs not only the growing township it sits within, but also the challenges that come with being deployed across the country to assist other brigades in large-scale fires.

The brigade’s captain of 13 years, Brendan MacDonald is a humble man of few words.

While he acknowledges the brigade’s 80th birthday as a milestone, he asserts that it isn’t about “fame or glory”.

“It’s just what we do,” he said.

For volunteer firefighter Dylan Budzienny, who joined the brigade in 2013 alongside his twin brother Nathan, it is a desire to help the community that has kept him a passionate member of the crew.

“I’ve always felt like I had something to offer the community and joining the CFA allows me to help the community and deal with a bunch of good blokes and girls,” he said.

“We’ve got a good group here and it’s quite fun.”

Fellow volunteer John Hogan shares a similar motivation.

“To be able to actually go and help out people in other communities, whether it be asset protection or trying to protect farmland…that’s a pretty powerful thing you can take away when you’ve been successfully, if you’ve actually saved someone’s house,” he said.

“When people are pretty vulnerable, to be able to be there and support those people and make everybody safe, that’s ultimately, I suppose, why we’re here.”

David Teagle, one of Drysdale’s newer recruits, said joining a brigade was a great opportunity to be part of something bigger.

“It’s not about any recognition, or anything else like that, it’s just being there.

“A really vital ingredient in any community is to have people [who are] prepared to put their hand up, not just for a paycheck, but to be a part of something and be able to assist and be there when people need you.”

Drysdale Fire Brigade is at 5 Princess Street, Drysdale.

For more information about this weekend’s birthday celebration, head to the brigade’s Facebook page.