Moira Shire CFA volunteers were honoured at a small ceremony of great significance in Shepparton for their role in fighting the 2019-20 bushfires.
The Black Summer fires were classified as an national emergency and ripped through large swathes of eastern Australia.
The ceremony, held on Thursday, June 22, saw 33 Moira Shire volunteers from across various brigades, receive the National Emergency Medal in front of family, friends and fellow CFA colleagues.
Cobram fire brigade 4th lieutenant Peter Clarkson was one of the recipients.
A 21-year CFA veteran, Mr Clarkson was previously the captain of the Diamond Creek brigade, and was in that position during the 2019-20 fires.
“I did a deployment to NSW in November of 2019, and three trips to Gippsland for the remainder of the Victorian season, so I was away four times,” Mr Clarkson said.
Mr Clarkson said his most vivid memory of fighting the fires was witnessing the helplessness of locals on the front line.
“One of the big memories was we went out to a farm and the farmer didn’t have diesel. So we actually siphoned diesel out of the fire truck to give him diesel just to get him going,” he said.
Mr Clarkson was already a recipient of the National Emergency Medal, for his services in combating the 2009 Black Saturday fires.
For him, and others like him, the ceremony saw him receive a clasp to go with his original medal.
Mr Clarkson said it was an honour to recognised.
“It just makes you feel honoured and privileged to get recognised for something that you’ve done,” he said.
CFA acting chief officer Gary Cook said more than 6000 CFA volunteers were involved in the response to the 2019-20 fires.
“(The award) represents the commitment that they made, to leave their safety, to leave their families, to leave their workplaces and to go and help others in their time of need,” he said.
“These people are everyday heroes.”
The Courier team would like to thank all the CFA volunteers in the Moira Shire region for their bravery and dedication.