By JESSE GRAHAM
HALF a century of firefighting and protecting the community was celebrated earlier this month when the Coldstream Fire Brigade marked its 50th birthday.
The Golden Jubilee event was held at Chateau Wyuna in Mount Evelyn where CFA Chief Officer Euan Ferguson and Eastern Metropolitan Regional Director Dave Baker recognised the effort of the brigade’s members.
Current and former members of the brigade were invited to attend the night and reminisce on times that had passed with the brigade, which began as the Lilydale Bush Fire Brigade in 1939 before becoming its own brigade in 1963.
Six of the brigade’s members received medals for long service to the brigade, with George Taylor, Graham Brown and Captain John Fenton all receiving medals for 30 years of service.
David Dent received a medal for 25 years of work with the brigade, while John Rowe received his medal for 20 years with the brigade and Jurgen Schnepf was awarded a medal for his 15 years at Coldstream.
Mr Ferguson said the firefighters awarded on the night had contributed a combined 150 years’ service to Coldstream.
A hand-sewn quilt, which traced the origins of the fire brigade from a tin-shed station to the current day, was created by Marie Brown and accepted by Mr Fenton at the 5 October event.
Mr Fenton said the evening was an achievement for the brigade and that the night was an enjoyable way to mark the history of the brigade.
“The way that the fire brigade has grown and served the community has been an incredible journey,” he said.
He said the Coldstream Fire Brigade is an important part of the community and offers a warm and friendly environment to its members and to locals.
“The local fire brigade is very much a community thing,” he said.
“People can get together, different characters from different walks of life, with one goal – to support and look after the community.”
Coldstream CFA has been involved in large incidents over the past 50 years, including the 1983 Ash Wednesday fires, the 2003 North East Fires, the 2009 Black Saturday fires and a number of trips to assist New South Wales firefighters.
