MONTACUTE COUNTRY FIRE SERVICE BRIGADE

Ms SIMMONS (Morialta) (15:37): During January, I was very privileged to attend celebrations to recognise 65 years of service to the community by the Montacute Country Fire Service and to meet many members of the CFS family in the Hills, both past and present. The Montacute Brigade was established in 1942 and was called the Montacute Firefighting Squad at the time. In 1977, it was absorbed into the newly formed Emergency Fire Service (EFS), which in turn eventually became known as the South Australian Country Fire Service.

It is interesting that the Montacute CFS Brigade is today still housed within the same section of shed first built in 1958 on Montacute Road, although I understand from the CFS Chief Officer, Euan Ferguson, that a new station is currently under discussion. Having seen the 1958 shed, I believe that the new premises are now long overdue. The current shed cost £200 and was opened by the director of the South Australian EFS, Mr Fred Kerr.

The state government of 1947 kindly supplied a trailer-mounted pump which was made surplus after the closure of the civil defence unit at the end of the Second World War. The pump was towed by a private vehicle owned by a local member of the community, Mr Eric Greene.

In 1957, the first dedicated fire appliance was a 1941 Chevrolet Blitz. This appliance attended both Ash Wednesday fires and was only decommissioned in 1986. In 1996, the Montacute Brigade acquired a Hino fire appliance capable of carrying 2,000 litres of water. In 1997, a Land Cruiser Quick Attack vehicle has proved vital along the narrow Hills fire tracks, and it has been my pleasure to travel with the CFS brigades in my area.

From such small beginnings, the Montacute CFS Brigade is now part of the East Torrens group which has 11 brigades within region 1, and services an area of approximately 260,000 hectares, covering Montacute Heights, Castambul and the Blackhill Morialta Conservation Park. There are currently 23 operational members in the Montacute CFS, several of whom were awarded long service medals at this celebration. I think it is important to name them: Richard Sturdy, 16 years of service; Donald Winter, 16 years; David Henderson, 17 years; William Spragg, 24 years; Frank Ackland-Prpic, 26 years; Garry Simcock, 29 years; and Ian Sparnon, 38 years. Ian also won an award on Australia Day from the Adelaide Hills Council for his volunteerism in the area. He really is a very special person and I feel very honoured to know him. I also mention Glen Trebilcock, 40 years; and Robert Possingham (our captain), 45 years of service. That is an amazing record for this group.

There are also 10 auxiliary members. Last year, the membership attended 35 call-outs in the local area. They also made themselves available for strike team requests, most recently and significantly in the Onkaparinga and Kangaroo Island fires at the end of 2007. This active group, led so admirably by their captain, Robert Possingham, also assists the community in bushfire education, community events and functions. What is so impressive about this activity is that the members demonstrate that they are not only a firefighting organisation but also play a vital role in attending road crashes, assisting victims, helping during heavy storms, and in providing fire cover for SA Police, SES, and SA Ambulance and emergency service workers.

This collaboration between all our emergency service workers provides the Hills area with a much safer community. The East Torrens group officers, Terry Beeston and Rob Possingham, also talked to me about the huge improvement in the standard of training and equipment now available through better government funding. This has enabled brigades to approach the many and varied incident types they face today with a higher degree of confidence and achievement.

The SA community has an ever-increasing expectation of our CFS volunteers. They wear great responsibility on their shoulders, and the support they receive from their families enables them to do a wonderful job for the rest of us.

I take this opportunity to pay tribute to the Montacute volunteers, their families and employers who support them. In providing their services, the people concerned all help to make our communities safer and better places in which to live, work and play.