People

Helen Henry is a 10-year captain leading her brigade of Glengarry West towards amalgamation with Glengarry brigade to its north.

After more than 40 years as Captain of the Casterton Fire Brigade, Peter White is looking forward to jumping on the back of a fire truck and getting his hands dirty again.

After 18 years as a volunteer and eight years as captain, Niki Habibis knows that leadership is “80 to 90 per cent HR [human resources]. Of course there are ups and downs dealing with 25 different personalities," she says, "but it’s rewarding. CFA creates such a good environment to be part of something.

Mornington CFA with the help of a number of local businesses now has a brand new addition to the Station in Mornington with a dedicated training area now on site.

Stories and thoughts from Nan Oates, Deputy Peer Coordinator.

The words “even keel” crop up a number of times as Dianne Simmons talks about her captaincy of Christmas Hills brigade. Clearly this is a brigade that values balance and stability.

When Operations Officer John Cutting bought a 1969 MG Midget in 2008, his plan was to take the top down and cruise around Bendigo on Sunday afternoons with wife Kim.

Merrilyn Clifford balances her captaincy of Ellerslie Fire Brigade, her dairy partnership with her father and home life with three high-school-aged children. She’s been in the brigade for 26 years and the leadership role for one.

In September 2006, 19-year-old Brodie Panlock ended her life after enduring ongoing humiliating and intimidating bullying by her co-workers at a café in Hawthorn.

When Launching Place and Woori Yallock amalgamated to form Hillcrest Fire Brigade in 2007, the members devised a motto: ‘Three communities, two stations, one brigade’.