.jpg "Member News image")
CFA Chief Officer Jason Heffernan with Kyneton Fire Brigade members.
Kyneton Fire Brigade celebrated its long 140-year history over the weekend with members and dignitaries.
The brigade marked the important milestone alongside Chief Officer Jason Heffernan and Minister for Health Mary-Anne Thomas MP on Saturday 27 July, at a dinner which also included significant service awards, acknowledging dedication to the people they serve.
Macedon Ranges Shire Deputy Mayor Jane Pearce proposed a toast to CFA and the brigade, commending and thanking the members for being ordinary people doing extraordinary things for the community.
Kyneton Captain Greg McIntyre said the brigade has been operating continuously since 1884 – when it had 30 members and was located at the former bluestone police stables.
"Eventually, it was moved to a timber building next door to the current fire station," Greg said.
In 1998, the brigade moved into its current location in town, maintaining a strong presence in the community.
"The brigade has always been a very active brigade in the community and in CFA competitions as well as operations," Greg said.
"We have about 70 members at the moment and over half of them are active firefighters. We also have close to 30 per cent female firefighters.
"We provide urban support to brigades in the group and beyond; we respond to the recently closed Malmsbury Youth Justice Centre, which used to have lots of alarms.
"And we do a lot of the usual incidents such as structure fires, car fires and motor vehicle accidents."
Receiving around 170 callouts every year, the brigade has a 2007 Hino 3.4C tanker, a 1998 Type 3 Isuzu pumper and a field command vehicle, alongside a hazmat trailer servicing the wider Macedon Ranges area.
"I remember our pumper when I first joined was a Mazda, it was a very small vehicle and not very powerful, so the one we have now is a big improvement on that."
Greg said the brigade is proud of its heritage.
"We certainly had a lot of people involved, before my time, in the Ash Wednesday bushfires and we were heavily involved in Black Saturday as well as Black Summer," he said.
"We've had many members participate in those and they've contributed a lot to the culture and learning at the brigade.
"We have quite a heritage program in the brigade with trophies and other memorabilia and we try and encourage members to be good representatives of the brigade and of CFA as they serve in the community."
For Greg, not only does his passion lie in mentoring up-and-coming firefighters but helping community members during a traumatic time.
"Sometimes it's hard if we get called at Christmas dinner time but then I think well, actually this is the worst day of somebody else's life so I haven't got anything to complain about," he said.
"I think the brigade is very well respected in our community. We're included in a number of community activities.
"I'm very proud when I see members committing, putting in the effort to train, and then being able to apply that when the situation requires it.
"To see the members working with one another, even though we're immensely different people, and we come from different backgrounds, we're all there to carry out the functions of the brigade and help save lives and property."
A plaque commemorating an extension finished in 2016 – now officially named The RG & RB Walker Extension – was handed over to members at the event.
The extension is named after members Ronda Beckley Walker OAM and ex-Captain Roger Gordon Walker AFSM.
"I felt honoured to participate with our Chief Officer in the official naming of this facility and the presentation of the commemorative plaque to honour two members who have contributed so much to the culture and development of the brigade for many years," Greg said.
"This commemorative plaque will serve as a reminder to future brigade members of the heritage of service on which we build."
