Lockwood Fire Brigade strikes diamond anniversary

LOCKWOOD Fire Brigade celebrated its 75-year anniversary with a community market in late October, with Captain Dean Heather calling the event “the biggest and most successful” he had seen in his many years with the volunteer organisation.

“There (was) such a large amount of work and organisation put into this by many members of our brigade, and we’re really pleased with how well it turned out,” he said.

“Having been involved in the brigade for 25 years, it was exciting to be a part of such a large community day.

“This year we decided to make it a real community affair, hoping to engage more closely with families and it was a great result.”

Mr Heather said it was particularly special during the festivities to acknowledge the brigade’s volunteers’ dedicated years of service.

“We had a certificate provided to us by the CFA unveiled and it was great to have CFA District 2 Assistant Chief Fire Officer Archie Conroy come down to speak,” he said.

“We (also) had a number of speeches touching on stories through the decades.”

As a rural fire brigade specialising in grass and scrub fires, volunteers first operated out of a station on the Calder Highway, before moving to the new site on Crusoe Road in 2002, which has better access to town and more room to house vehicles.

Over the years, brigade members have been deployed to major incidents including the 1983 Ash Wednesday bushfires, 2009’s Black Saturday, and the devastating 2019-20 fire season.