Birthday celebrations at state championships

It wasn't long after he joined up that Stewy was fighting the Black Saturday fires and afterwards was eager to get even more involved with his new brigade and joined a team for his first ever state championships competition.  

"Kevin Atteridge, the captain at the time, took me under his wing and told me I would be perfect for these firefighting games and so it all just started from there," Stewy said.  

Fifteeen years later Stewy is still competing in the championships and has also taken up a role coaching both junior and senior teams for Springhurst and he said he particularly enjoys coaching the juniors.  

"It gives them really good training, even though we aren't using flames it is good for their skills, good for discipline, gets them really involved and I try to instill all the CFA values in them," Stewy said.  

"My son has just started and I look forward to the next few years getting to do it with him."  

This year's state championships fall on Stewy's 53rd birthday and he said he can't think of a better way to spend his birthday.  

"I probably only have a few more left in me because I am getting up to that age, so I am really going to make the most of it," he said.  

Stewy said he loves the camaraderie of the championships and even though winning medals is a good motivator it is the sense of community that keeps him coming back year after year.  

“You meet new people, it’s lots of fun, a bit of an adrenaline rush, there is nothing negative about it,” he said.