What’s your connection to Wyndham?
I grew up in Deer Park and I met my wife, who lived in St Albans. I moved in with her and her parents for about six months and then we got engaged and married; there was no mucking around.
Her parents heard about Werribee and Hoppers Crossing and when they moved into Hoppers we moved in with them and stayed with them for about 10 months. Then we bought our first house in what they call either Birdsville [a series of Hoppers Crossing streets named after birds] or the Birdcage, and we’ve been in that area ever since. We have two kids.
You’ve been a volunteer firefighter with Hoppers Crossing Fire Brigade for 24 years. What made you sign up?
My brother-in-law saw an ad in the local newspaper calling for people to join the Country Fire Authority as a volunteer … so we rang up.
The standards have changed now. We’ve pretty much got to be at the same level as career firefighters. I love volunteering. I do my day job and then am more than happy to get up at all hours and still go to a job. That’s what the community needs.
Tell me about some of the memorable call-outs you’ve had.
I haven’t been interstate yet, just because of work commitments.
[I’ve fought fires] in Dandenong, Heyfield, Churchill and I was on the first truck from Hoppers Crossing to respond to that initial call on Black Saturday. We got called out about 11am and I didn’t get home until 2.30 the following morning. It was a very long day.
What’s one of the quirkiest call-outs you’ve been to?
We rescued a dog stuck in a rabbit hole on the side of Glendale aged-care facility. Apparently the Jack Russell had chased a rabbit into its hole and got jammed. We had to get excavators in to dig a bigger hole to get the dog out. It took about four hours.
What is your day job?
I worked as an emergency responder for the past four years for a company called Falck Australia. We’re the initial responders before the MFB and CFA arrive.
We’re firefighters, we do confined-space rescues, all that kind of stuff.
Before that, I was working for Chubb Fire and Safety and before that I was a chef by trade for 29 years.
As a former chef, what is your signature dish?
A cherry ripe cheesecake. It’s one of those recipes you don’t write down on a piece of paper; I have it in my head.
What are your hobbies outside work?
Football. I still play for Williamstown Superules, but I also waterski, snowski, jetski – all that fun stuff.
