Rockbank firefighter awarded life membership

 

Rockbank Fire Brigade Firefighter Derek Ramsay has been awarded a brigade life membership.

 

This is the first time in 18 years that Rockbank brigade has awarded a life membership.

The brigade sustained severe hardship, was on the brink of collapse due to a lack of members and internal struggles, and was subsequently taken over by the Operations Officer of Caroline Springs Fire Brigade from 2015 to 2018.

Throughout these tough times, Derek Ramsay remained dedicated to maintaining the station, responding to callouts in collaboration with CFA staff and volunteers to build up his skills and working with the district office to keep the station operating.

Now through the rough patch, Rockbank brigade is making great progress through recruitment, training and dedication to respond to emergencies in its primary area and surrounding brigade areas. 

Upon presentation of the award Derek said: "I definitly didn't expect to receive the award. There were some dark days and I look forward to the day that I can't get a spot on the truck because we have too many members".  

Above all else, the brigade remains conscious of where it has come from in recent times and acknowledges that without Derek's actions, we may not have the brigade that we do today.

 

Submitted by	Matt Cain