At 15 years of age, Narre Warren North local Steve Hicks was roaming around his hometown with some friends, not aware that an opportunity which would change the course of his life.
The captain at the Narre Warren North CFA brigade at the time noticed the group of mates and pulled over to ask them if they wanted to start volunteering for the brigade.
Mr Hicks said he joined the brigade in 1974 with some of his friends.
“Three of us stayed on for a while,” he said.
Mr Hicks was among the recipients of the Australian Fire Service Medal in this year’s King’s Birthday honours.
Mr Hicks acted as the Narre Warren North captain from 1981 to 1987 and the captain at the Pakenham Upper brigade from 1993 to 2001.
He has also served as the deputy group officer in the Pakenham and Cardinia groups and is currently the 1st deputy group officer of the Cardinia Group and 3rd Lieutenant of the Pakenham Upper Fire Brigade.
Out of his 50 years volunteering with the CFA, he has been a captain or lieutenant for 35 years and a deputy group officer for 24 years.
Mr Hicks has also served on the District 8 District Planning Committee Operations sub-committee for 21 years, with a chief officer’s accreditation for a level 3 operations officer and is also an endorsed level 2 incident controller.
His work has focused on increasing the level of competency and performance of volunteers at all levels, with a key focus on wildfire behaviour, crew leaders, and Strike Team leaders.
Mr Hicks said he has loved his work volunteering both in fighting fires and improving the overall performance of local brigades.
“You just do what you need to do,” he said.
Mr Hicks said technological changes and other shifts in the CFA meant the CFA of today was “hugely different” than the one he joined 50 years ago.
“Fires have got bigger as there’s a lot more building materials than there used to be,” he said.
“When I started, it was all about going out and having fun.
“It gave us a bit of an outlet.”
Mr Hicks said former Narre Warren North captain Ivan Smith was one of his key mentors during the first few years with CFA.
“He took me under his wing a bit,” he said.
“I took over from him.
“I owe a lot of what I know to him.”
Mr Hicks said he also owed a lot of his training techniques to former Gembrook captain and fellow AFSM recipient Brian Petrie.
He said he has enjoyed mentoring others and shaping new volunteers.
“I’m just trying to pass on things I’ve learnt to others,” Mr Hicks said.
“I do get so much enjoyment out of it.”
He was also the captain of the Narre Warren North brigade during the Ash Wednesday bushfires on Wednesday 16 February 1983.
His wife Lisa, who was fourth lieutenant at the time, was in one of the first trucks to head out to fight the Belgrave South fire.
Mr Hicks had just given blood at the Narre Warren North Hall, but when he emerged, he knew there was a serious disaster on the way.
“I saw the smoke in the distance,” he said.
“I spent the next three or four days out.
“It was pretty well full-time.”
Three out of their four children have volunteered with the CFA, with his daughter Kelly Ketteringham working as a police officer and voluntering at Drouin West Fire Brigade, his son Michael working as a sparky and volunteering with the Cockatoo CFA brigade and his other son Phillip working for FRV Pakenham, while his other daughter Casey is a nurse.
“It’s something that grows on you,” he said.
“They get a lot out of it.”
Mr Hicks said he had made a number of strong friendships over his time with the CFA.
“You make a lot of friends,” he said.
“You build up lifelong relationships and friendships.”
Mr Hicks said he was excited to see new faces join local brigades and find their own strengths.
“It’s nice to see young people join up,” he said.
“You see kids come here with very little confidence and you just see their knowledge grow.
“You can see them develop and turn into real mature and sensible adults.”
Mr Hicks said it was a “real honour” to be named in the same breath as other local AFSM recipients.
“It’s nice to be honoured for something you get so much enjoyment out of,” he said.
