Five decades of fire service

by Yvette Brand

Fifty years after joining the CFA as a junior volunteer at Neerim South, and later turning his commitment into a career, Gavin Parker has been honoured with an Australian Fire Services Medal.
Mr Parker has made a significant contribution to the safety and wellbeing of communities through his commitment to innovation and dedication to frontline personnel.
The medal is recognition of his service on the frontline, operational leadership and being a key player in developing new technology.
With his father Trevor captain at Neerim South, a 16-year-old Gavin was inspired to join his local brigade and follow in his father's footsteps - a decision that has now seen three generations of the family serve the CFA.
"There is a family connection to the CFA - my brother and brother-in-law are both members. That is one of the hallmarks of the CFA, its a community - it's representative of communities and families."
Following a mechanical apprenticeship with his father and 18 years in the trade, Mr Parker said he was at a crossroads in his life.
"I had been a CFA volunteer and thought maybe I could make a career out of it - it was a great opportunity to do both."
In 1995, Mr Parker transitioned to a career firefighter role with the CFA and, following the transition of career firefighters to Fire Rescue Victoria in 2020, continued to serve the CFA on secondment from Fire Rescue Victoria.
From volunteer to career, in the past five decades Mr Parker has served in a range of frontline and leadership roles. He has held positions including senior station officer and currently serves as a commander, leading emergency operations in one of the state's most complex and high-risk regions.
"It's great to have a job that you love doing. What was an interest I have turned into a career and that's a privilege."
The AFSM award CV stated Mr Parker had "demonstrated exceptional skill and resilience in numerous emergency incidents."
During the Black Saturday bushfires in 2009, he led his crew in responding to the Churchill fire, operating under extreme conditions to successfully defend a critical communications tower.
In the Black Summer bushfires of 2019–20, Mr Parker played a key role in managing complex peat fires, applying his deep tactical expertise to co-ordinate safe and effective multi-agency responses.
He also was part of an international deployment to the 2017 Californian fires.
Mr Parker was instrumental in introducing thermal imaging technology to the CFA and is recognised as the organisation's subject matter expert. He developed and delivered structured training drills that significantly enhanced firefighter safety and operational capability.
His training methodology was internationally recognised and published in both Australian and international fire magazines. Two scholarships have taken him to the United States and Canada to pursue research and product development.
"It's a fairly niche thing that only a handful of people globally have been involved in to the level that I am.
"The CFA has given me a lot of opportunities so I feel very fortunate."
But it is helping people through difficult circumstances that has been Mr Parker's greatest reward.
"People expect that we are rescuing people all the time and it's not like that.
"I have rescued a few people from buildings...ultimately that's what we are trained to do and it's very rewarding.
"It's about helping people. For an elderly person who has had a kitchen fire, that's a traumatic experience and there's a lot of satisfaction helping people when we can, especially when they are vulnerable," he said.