In 2009 he was Captain of Churchill Brigade and the first incident controller of the blaze which ravaged the area and claimed 11 lives. Like thousands of other CFA members he spent countless hours fighting the fire and weeks mopping up and this Australia Day he was recognised for his 25 years of dedication to the community. On Friday 27 January he was presented with the inaugural National Emergency Medal by Prime Minister Julia Gillard at an event in Flowerdale.
Humbled by the award, Mr Barling said he was honoured but could not do his job without his colleagues around him.
“I’m pretty excited, it’s nice to be recognised but there are a lot of other people who did things just as I did. It’s not just about me, but about everyone else who was involved,” he said.
In the weeks following Black Saturday, Mr Barling worked solidly to ensure the area would be safe again.
“[The February 7 fire] was the biggest thing I’ve ever been involved in. I had control of the fire for one and a half hours before it was passed on to the Incident Control Centre. It’s a day that I will certainly never forget and one I hope I never have to experience again.”
During his 25 years as a CFA volunteer Mr Barling spent 15 years as captain and is now a Group Officer looking after the Morwell, Hazelwood North, Churchill, Driffield, Yinnar, Yinnar South and Boolarra brigades.
After so many years as a volunteer, Mr Barling said it’s important that he enjoys what he does and is doing something the benefits the community.
The National Emergency Medal was established by The Queen to recognise unique contribution and significant commitment of those people who have provided service in response to a nationally-significant emergency. This includes the February 2009 bushfires, the floods that happened in Queensland during December 2010 and January 2011 and Cyclone Yasi.
CFA Captain Helen Kenney also received a National Emergency Medal - story here.
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