Toomuc Fire Brigade recently gathered to celebrate their 80 years of service to the community and acknowledge the dedication of some of their long-serving members.
More than 60 people came together at the Cardinia Club in Pakenham on Saturday 14 June, with CFA Chief Officer Jason Heffernan joining in the festivities.
Toomuc Fire Brigade Captain Andrew Ferrari has been a member for 22 years and said after a long, busy summer, it was nice to come together to mark the special occasion.
“We are a peaceful bunch, we work hard, get the job done and get home safely,” Andrew said.
“We had eight firefighters attend the Gurdies fire in December, before heading to the Grampians. Our 2nd Lieutenant Dan Farrall, lead a crew who were locating hot spots that had been called in by aircraft patrolling the area.”
Formed after the Pakenham fires in 1944, the original station was then built and opened in 1954 by the founding members. The bricks used were made by the clay from the nearby creek.
Surrounding larger towns like Pakenham, Officer, Upper Beaconsfield and Pakenham Upper, the old mining village of Toomuc remains well protected, with 23 brigade members stationed locally and Fire Rescue Victoria just around the corner.
“We still have a wall out the front of our station made from the original bricks,” Andrew said.
“We were also the first brigade to have a positive pressure fan for ventilation in the area.”
15-year Toomuc member and 1st Lieutenant Blake Sokaluk said the brigade is well equipped with their tanker and ultralight, which assists them with their typical 190 call-outs a year.
“Our tanker goes away on strike teams quite a bit, and when it does go away, we always manage to get some crew on it.” Blake said.
‘During the 2019-20 bushfires it was away for five weeks and every shift there was either two, three or four of us on there.
“That’s our strong point, if we do get called upon, we can make it happen. We have a great brigade who are willing and ready to help.
“We’ve had members go interstate into Queensland, New South Wales, South Australia and Tasmania for fire and flood relief, and a couple are also on the Planned Burn Taskforce.
“Our former Captain John Ferrari also fought the Ash Wednesday bushfires and remains active in the brigade.”
Although the brigade doesn’t have a lot of daytime turnout availability due to most people working in the city or surrounds, the brigade has recently had three people jump on board.
“We are a small brigade, but we love spending time with the community. We do regular events and fundraisers throughout the year where we bring our truck down and do a few activities with the kids and big kids,” Blake said.
The service history within the brigade is diverse, ranging from one week to 43 years. On the night, two members received a National Medal, one with a first clasp, while three were awarded their 20 years of service certificate, and another three for 5, 10 and 15 years.
