28-year-old Andrew Smith is a volunteer firefighter at Hillcrest CFA in Don Valley.
Mr Smith is qualified as a Driver, Crew Leader, Chainsaw Operator, Breathing Apparatus (BA), First Aid, and among other things and has held various roles and portfolio’s during his time such as 4th Lieutenant a few times both with Cockatoo and Hillcrest, 2nd Lieutenant with Cockatoo and was recently elected as 1st Lieutenant at Hillcrest. Roles have included Apparatus (maintenance of all the bits and pieces that help fight fires etc), Community Safety (engaging with the community to increase fire and emergency awareness across all sectors), Pre Plans (preparing written documents to help the brigade in the event of an incident at particular premises) and Occupational Health and Safety.
Outside of the CFA, Mr Smith works as a viticulturist (vineyard manager) here in the Yarra Valley and between that and is four kids and partner there’s not a lot of time left. He has just purchased an old timber cruiser (boat) down at Lakes Entrance which he can’t wait to spend time on and he oversees production at Wyanga Park Winery in Lakes Entrance too. he does a bit of motorcycle riding also and has had a Ducati 900 S2 since 1985, which is in need of some restoration work, and recently bought another Ducati, a 1000 Monster. He much prefers the old 900.
His first fire call was a house fire. The residents had emptied out the ash from their fire pit into a metal bucket whilst it was still hot. As the hours went on the ash had melted through the bucket and had unfortunately spread.
During his time at the CFA, Mr Smith feels as though he has grown as a manager, needing to make quick decisions in emergency situations. In a vineyard there’s always time to consider the pros and cons of a particular course of action, however, often on the fire ground, the decision needs to be made quickly and decisively, as the situation can evolve rapidly.
In one word to describe CFA, he chose Family. He said this year has been particularly tough for him and his kids and a few times over the year he was told that no matter what, the CFA is your other family who will always be there.
Finally, his number one fire safety tip is to clean your chimney!
