Larry is longest serving captain

This month marks 11 years of captaincy for Larry – with the milestone to stretch out to 12 years if he completes his term until April.

“I don’t know what I would do if I didn’t volunteer – I’d be a bit lost,” Larry said.

Aside from CFA, the 59-year-old is involved in a number of other community projects, including volunteering for the Bulla Tennis Club and cemetery trust.

“I guess I’m just a community-minded person,” Larry said.

“I like being involved in my community and I like the feeling you get from being able to help somebody.”

Larry has been a part of Bulla CFA since it was formed in February 1986 when John McKenzie led the brigade. He has held many positions since then, including as Secretary and Lieutenant and took over the role of Captain from Peter Osborne who went on to become a career firefighter.

“I hope to stay on in the role – we have a great group of people at Bulla and the brigade is very proud of its very good record in response and turnout,” Larry said.

Attending around 130 incidents a year, Larry said Bulla was unique in that it was primarily a rural brigade but was in close proximity to major city infrastructure.

“Our major response is in road rescue and our grassfire risk is high but we also have the responsibility of the airport,” Larry said.

“If anything starts here in Bulla it needs to be dealt with pretty quickly for that reason.”

Bulla CFA is also called on to assist neighbouring brigades during incidents, in which it has developed good working relationships with Sunbury, Diggers Rest, Wildwood and Greenvale, just to name a few.

“You get to know your neighbours pretty well and that’s been one of the highlights of my time with CFA, the mateship,” Larry said.