Committee for Lorne: Lorne CFA Dinner – A Great Community Event

Last Saturday night, the Lorne CFA Brigade hosted a function at Stribling Reserve Community Pavilion to present Five-Year Service Certificates and Service Medals to members of the Lorne Brigade. The event was a sit-down dinner during which the formal presentation of awards took place, followed by music and dancing, and most importantly, a chance for Lorne Community to just “get together.” About 110 people were in attendance.

Senior Officers from CFA attended and made the presentations. What came through on the evening was the camaraderie of all those members of the CFA and the breadth and depth of commitment by so many people in the Lorne Community.

The Lorne Brigade was formed in 1936 and has been running for 87 years. The brigade currently has 43 members (29 Operational Firefighters) and they attend approximately 78 incidents annually. The Township of Lorne was first established in 1850.

It was noted in the Geelong Advertiser of 14 February 1851 of the presence of bad fires around the Lorne/Cape Otway area (Black Thursday). This also began the practice of naming a fire for the day on which it began.

The Lorne Fire Brigade registered with the Country Fire Brigades Board, making it the first brigade to be registered on the South coast. The original registration certificate now hangs in the emergency services complex multipurpose room. Foundation members who were instrumental in forming the brigade at this time were Messrs’ C Howard, J Alsop, and Hector Stribling.

The newest member of the Lorne Brigade, Joe Forbes, spoke of the reasons he decided to join the Lorne Brigade after moving from Melbourne to Lorne and his impressions of the organisation. It’s interested to gain a perspective from a new arrival in our community. Joe said, “I was thinking about joining the CFA or SES when I started to meet people around town who were:
(a) Always friendly, and
(b) Weirdly interested in whether or not I had a heavy truck licence. I did – so these people (Frazer and Darren) encouraged me to look at the CFA.”

Joe went on to say “What I expected when I joined the CFA was:
• I would get to meet new people from a range of backgrounds,
• The CFA would be a group of Volunteers giving freely of their time to support the local community they love,
• And as regional volunteers, they would be keen and enthusiastic, but perhaps slowed down by the administrative burden and constrained funding typical of a large government organisation.

What I didn’t expect, but what is clear:
• The CFA provide high-quality training that is modern, well-run, specific, and applicable. The formal training has been great and is well reinforced by the activities at Brigade level.
• There is a consistent level of professionalism from all members – they are people who clearly know what they are doing and they do it very well.
• I have also been impressed by the strong collective sense of purpose and cohesion. The CFA is an organisation that has a very clear mission and cares about how it performs that mission. The Lorne Brigade is well-led, organised, diverse, and inclusive. I’m lucky to be part of it and as I keep telling my family and friends – it’s the best job I’ve ever had (although the pay does suck!)”

Assistant Fire Chief Officer Brendan Lawson and Commander Wayne Aylmer attended the event to present awards. Recipients of Five-Year Certificates were:

• Kevin Van Deuren
• Jasper Inkster
• Suzanne Diviny
• Karen Pitt
• Pearse McCaffrey
• Chris McCaffrey

Recipients of Service Medals were:

• Lee Hollmer 10 years
• Dee Stewart 10 years
• Tony Hill 10 years
• Phil Walsh 15 years
• Neil Hillard 15 years
• Marsha Babington 15 years
• Rod Stewart 15 years
• Frazer Buckle 20 years
• Darren Phieler 25 years
• Ed Babington 25 years
• Len Tank 40 years
• Scott Chirnside 50 years

Assistant Fire Chief Officer Brendan Lawson addressed the members attending, “I want to again acknowledge everyone that has received an award tonight and extend my sincere thanks to you for your unwavering service to the community and FFMV. It’s important that we take advantage of moments like tonight to recognize the incredible service and dedication you bring to CFA and the broader community.

Brendan went on to say, “Your relationships with our partner agencies should be celebrated. The Brigade has a strong involvement with educating and preparing the community for fire with our partner agency FFMV. Your commitment to community and fire prevention should also be recognized. You are held in the highest regards by our other partner agencies.”

“The Brigade responds to an average of 80 calls per year. These calls see our people responding to a diverse range of calls from structure fires to forest, grass, and scrub fire, car accidents, gas leaks, motor vehicle accidents, and everything in-between. Our Brigade has a significant role in supporting our partner agencies in the Lorne community.”

“As mentioned earlier, our members are highly skilled and ready to respond 24hrs a day, 365 days a year. 2 am on a cold morning or giving up their weekends and weeknights time and time again, all of which we are so very grateful.”

He concluded, “To all of our members, I want to express my gratitude for the sacrifices you and your families make. I am incredibly grateful for the support and recognize the important role your families/friends/partners provide in supporting you to do what you do each and every day to support the community. I want you to know that your efforts do not go unnoticed. You are appreciated, respected, and admired by your community and CFA.

When you consider the depth of commitment and the training and service it takes to be a member of the CFA and then consider making that commitment over so many years, we are lucky and privileged to have such a Brigade in our community. The evening was a great celebration of such dedicated members of our community and a chance to say thanks. Let’s hope it becomes an annual event.

Pete Spring

A word from the Chairman