Kalamunda Volunteer Bush Fire Brigade

July 19th, 3:14 pm

At our Christmas in July party on Saturday night, the Brigade also inducted a new Life Member of the Brigade. Life Membership is awarded to members who demonstrate a long term and considerable commitment to the Brigade and by extension, the community we serve. Members become eligible to be considered for Life Membership after 15 years of active service, after which they also need to satisfy a number of other criteria.

This year's recipient, Duncan Reynolds, met those criteria with flying colours. Dunc joined the Brigade as a cadet in 2006 and rapidly became one of our most dedicated and reliable members. Since 2006 Dunc has attended 410 emergency incidents, has held the positions of Captain, First Lieutenant, Lieutenant and Crew Leader, and was awarded the Mark Loohuys Firefighter of the Year award in 2011. He currently serves as a Lieutenant. It is an absolute honour to extend Life Membership with the Kalamunda Volunteer Bushfire Brigade to Dunc. ... See MoreSee Less

Kalamunda Volunteer Bush Fire Brigade

July 18th, 1:54 pm

Last night the Brigade held a Christmas in July function. We have decided to move our annual Christmas party to the middle of the year, because fires kept interrupting the festivities when we held it in December... At last night's function a number of awards were given out and we'll post some of them here over the next few days.

The first is the Mark Loohuys Firefighter of the Year award, given to the Brigade member adjudged to have best exemplified the spirit of being a top firefighter over the past 12 months. The award is named to honour and keep alive the memory of Mark Loohuys, who was both a Brigade member and serving police officer, who was killed in the line of duty in February 2000.

The recipient of the award this year was Liam Day. Liam only joined the Brigade last year, but over the past 12 months has impressed mightily with his professional and dedicated approach, to first completing basic training and probation, and then during his first fire season as an active firefighter. Well done Liam! ... See MoreSee Less

Kalamunda Volunteer Bush Fire Brigade

June 21st, 8:22 pm

Timeline Photos🧯🧯🧯 Local Hero, Simon Bell knows all about “Act, Belong, Commit.”
Nominated in recognition of his long serving and active membership of the Bush Fire Brigade, City of Kalamunda resident and Senior Community Local Hero, Simon Bell is a lifetime member of the Bush Fire Brigade having volunteered for over 17 years and assisted with over 550 fires.

“I love helping the community and being part of the community. I enjoy the camaraderie that comes with belonging to an organization,” mentioned Simon. “I recommend it to anyone who is prepared to put the commitment in, to join. But you do have to be committed.”

❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥 “You also need the backing of friends and family. I could not have done what I do without the support of my wife. I would have been in real trouble without her. Sometimes I have been away for days, fighting fires anywhere in the State, and she is left to keep everything functioning at home. It’s a team effort.”

Mayor Margaret Thomas JP said, “Simon is a great example that behind every hero are any number of heroes, as part of a broader support network.”

“The 84 members of our local @KalamundaBushFireBrigade and their personal support networks, perform a valuable role in keeping our community safe. In 2020/2021, the volunteers were called out 46 times, including responding to eight large fires, 15 smaller fires, two hazardous situations, and two road crash rescues.”

“The City is a partner with Act Belong Commit , and by giving back to the community, we can all find our niche and a space where we feel we belong.”

❓❓❓ Do you know a Local Hero? Nominate them today at engage.kalamunda.wa.gov.au/local-heroes

For more information, please contact the City of Kalamunda on 9257 9999, email enquiries@kalamunda.wa.gov.au or visit www.kalamunda.wa.gov.au/

#ActBelongCommit #LocalHero #CityofKalamunda #BushFireBrigade ... See MoreSee Less

Kalamunda Volunteer Bush Fire Brigade

June 9th, 12:10 pm

Last week the Brigade held it's Annual General Meeting, at which elections were held for Leadership positions in the Brigade. Pictured here are the Brigade Captain Dave Stewart, and the five Brigade Lieutenants, John Idland, Duncan Reynolds, Andrew Haselden, Natalie Smailes, and Kylie Howe( not included in this photo are the newly elected Brigade Treasurer Eric Swaby, Secretary Terese Foster, and Hazard Reduction Officer Chris Hannah). Natalie and Kylie's election continues the strong tradition of female operational officers in the Brigade, in what is a traditionally male dominated field. For the past 30 years approximately 30% of the Brigade's front line firefighters have been women.

Thanks also go to outgoing Lieutenants Chris Hannah and Nathan Miller (who was also Hazard Reduction Officer), outgoing Training Officer Natalie Smailes, and the three other incumbent officers who make up the rest of the Leadership Team and whose positions were not up for election, Equipment Officer Andrew Stubbs, Health Safety and Environment Officer Chris Grubba, and Incident Support Officer Mike Lennon (the Senior Training Officer position is currently vacant and will be filled in an election to be held at the August Brigade meeting).

All of these people are volunteers who combined put in thousands of hours each year to keep the Brigade running and the community safe. There are no paid staff in the Brigade. ... See MoreSee Less