Nathalia CFA with State Member for Northern Victoria Wendy Lovell.
Nathalia Fire Brigade members were the stars of the show at Moira Shire’s Australia Day ceremony, after taking home half of the day’s awards.
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CFA members attended the ceremony with no expectations of winning, yet managed to claim Community Organisation of the Year, Citizen of the Year, and Young Citizen of the Year awards.
The unit’s captain Wayne Geisler said it was nice to know the community recognised their work in the community.
“For a start, it’s a good thing that the brigade has people in the community that can see that we’re a deserving group to be nominated,” he said.
“Then obviously, to take out the award is a bit of an honour, but it’s not something we look to try and achieve or get that kind of recognition.”
Although Nathalia’s population sits at just under 2000 people, the Nathalia Fire Brigade is an impressive force, with 31 operational members and 14 juniors among the ranks.
On top of their firefighting skills, many have undergone specialist training in areas such as breathing apparatus, height safety training, low voltage fuse pulls, first aid qualifications and off-road truck driving.
A few of the members are also trained strike team leaders and crew leaders.
Regardless of whether there are fires or not, training sessions happen every Wednesday night, and Sunday morning trainings are held every three or four weeks.
Citizen of the Year Wayne Kenelley, Nathalia CFA captain Wayne Geisler and Young Citizen of the Year Brodie Sposito.
Photo by
Lua Ikenasio
Wayne Kennelly, this year's Citizen of the Year, said the numbers had remained stable at Nathalia Fire Brigade in the 53 years he had been there.
“We haven’t changed significantly in numbers over time. It’s always difficult to encourage people to join the CFA,” he said.
“Not everyone likes the idea of a pager going off at three in the morning, and it’s raining cats and dogs or freezing cold, and you have to get out there, and you might be going to work the next morning, too.”
For Mr Kennelly, winning Citizen of the Year is a full circle moment for him as his mother was also a recipient of the award.
He said that although he was unsure whether to accept the nomination, he wanted to honour the volunteers who worked hard to bring the event together.
“Initially, I was a bit sceptical about it when I was approached. I didn’t know how I felt about it,” he said.
“The volunteers put a significant amount of work in to make it happen and put it on for the community, so I thought okay ... it’s an honour to be nominated and an honour to win it.”
Young Citizen of the Year Brodie Sposito also felt hesitant when he was told of his nomination, saying he was “nervous” about it.
At only 17 years old, young Brodie is an active community members and has done exceptional things.
After graduating from the CFA juniors at 16, he has been an operational member for a year now.
Not long after he became a CFA member, he had a “baptism of fire,” dealing with major fires on his first two jobs, one of which involved two burning homes and major explosions.
Mr Kennelly said Brody was quick to learn the ropes during the fires.
“He got thrown in the deep end real quick, and he took the challenge up and did a damn good job,” he said.
Outside his work in the CFA, Brody is involved in the local chook auctions, the agriculture society, and is well known for his volunteer work around town.
Mr Kennelly said that in their line of work, they mainly get recognition after a massive fire or a significant event, so it was nice to have their work acknowledged.
“As the captain said, we’re not here for the accolades, but it was nice to think that the people who nominated us thought enough about we do as a brigade to put us up for a nomination, and to win it was even better,” he said.
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