KEITH Clough joined the Lake Charm Fire Brigade when he was 18 years old and began fighting fires with just a hand-pumped knapsack.
The 78-year-old was on the frontline in the Macedon Ranges for the devastating 1983 Ash Wednesday bushfires, and in a control room in Kinglake West during Black Saturday.
Mr Clough has responded to countless grassfires, housefires and other local crises and was recently awarded with a CFA life membership and Lake Charm Fire Brigade life membership.
After a lifetime of service, Mr Clough said it comes down to a matter of community spirit.
“It’s one of those things you do to help your community, to serve your community,” Mr Clough said.
“A lot of people believe that if you ring triple-0, the fire brigade will just turn up.
“They don’t stop to think that someone’s giving up their day job, getting out of bed in the middle of the night.”
Mr Clough said the memories of Ash Wednesday are still with him.
“It was daunting to go down there, you’d be driving through the area and there’d be houses that were burnt, completely torched, and then there’d be a house beside it that wasn’t touched.
“You’d see a tractor that had a tire burnt off the back of it, but the rest of the tractor was intact.
“It was hard to describe why things happened as they did, but it was certainly an eye-opener.
“As someone who’s used to flat-country, to get down around Macedon and be in a firetruck going up and down hills, around corners, was definitely a challenge and a steep learning curve at the time.”
Mr Clough was part of the second wave of crews to respond.
“The main fire had probably passed, but there was still a lot of smouldering and embers going on at that stage.
“A lot of blacking out and small spot fires to control.”
During the 2009 Black Saturday bushfires, Mr Clough was in a control room amidst one of the fire’s epicentres for several days.
“Quite often things don’t always go according to plan, and the ability for crews to achieve objectives change because of access and things like that,” Mr Clough said.
“Your crew’s personal safety is always the most important thing.”
Mr Clough is calm in a crisis, and said it is a skill that you are both born with and develop with experience.
“In a crisis situation, you know what you’ve got to do and you just work through the process – probably everything else goes out the window,” Mr Clough said.
“You’re concentrating on what’s in front of you and hopefully making the right call.”
Around 35 years ago, Mr Clough remembers responding to a fire on Gunbower Island in the middle of the night.
“There were a lot of burnt trees, and we were walking around in the blackout of night,” Mr Clough said.
“Because of burning trees, you never know when there’s going to be a limb that falls down.
“Fortunately, no one was injured at that incident, but all the visibility we had was from the glow of a few burning trees and the odd firetruck moving about.”
The lifelong volunteer was also integral to the response to incidents that harrowed the local community, including the Kerang level crossing collision in 2007 and a night where several houses were targets of an arson attack.
Mr Clough has held a multitude of positions within the Lake Charm Fire Brigade, as well as representing the brigade as a group officer and training officer.
He has served on the state board of the Volunteer Fire Brigades of Victoria and worked as area finance officer of brigades for District 20 Headquarters.
Lake Charm Fire Brigade secretary Sue Gillingham said Mr Clough is held in the highest regard by his fellow brigade members and throughout the wider community.
“Several of us have experienced Keith’s advice and support, a friendly boost when needed,” Ms Gillingham said.
“He has been a role model for less experienced members, especially through his leadership in various roles.
“Thanks, Keith.”
