District 14 Headquarters Brigade celebrates 30 years of service

Captain Deb Luke AFSM presents 25-year service medal to John Farmelo

 

District 14 Headquarters Brigade was established in 1995 and celebrates 30 years of dedicated support this year.

 

The role of the brigade has adapted throughout the 30-year period. It originally provided critical support to District 14 in the District Coordination Centre supporting incidents. Over the years, members have been deployed to Gisborne ICC and major campaign fires, performing roles such as IMS operator, flight following, and logistics support. 

More recently members have developed their incident management team experience in roles such as incident control, intelligence, ops radio operator, management support, logistics and public information at the Sunshine Incident Control Centre.  

Members of the brigade were recognised for their contributions with CFA with service awards at both the brigade annual dinner held in December 2024 and at the February 2025 meeting.

Maria Price joined the brigade in 2019 and has held many roles including 3^rd lieutenant and treasurer. Inspired by her CFA experience, she also joined her local brigade, Balliang, where she currently performs the role of treasurer.

Maria has undertake work progressing her skills as a Level 2 logistics officer and represented both the brigade and CFA at Victorian campaign fires as well as deploying interstate to Queensland.

Maria was awarded a well-deserved five-year certificate and continues to be an asset to the brigade.

John Farmelo joined the Headquarters Brigade in 1999 and at the February meeting was recognised with a 25-year medal. With a passion for flight following, John was a regular for many years in the District Coordination Centre providing years of support on hot days and during high operational activity.

Captain Deb Luke AFSM commended both Maria and John for the continued support to CFA and the District 14 Headquarters Brigade.  

"Both Maria and John have actively served CFA over the years and are valuable members of the D14 HQ Brigade," Deb said.

"The D14 HQ Brigade is actively focused on supporting District 14 and CFA people at the front line and those who are delivering our services to the community in a variety of roles and functions in areas outside the traditional firefighting model. 

"Currently there are 23 members performing operational support roles at State, IMT and DCC level. Members are linked into the appropriate State/IMT/DCC teams which enables them to work through their role pathway with opportunities to train, exercise and be mentored."

 

Submitted by	Chanel Gilbertson