VETERAN Kaloorup Volunteer Bushfire Brigade firefighter Ron Reid was awarded for his 20 years of service as the brigade’s secretary treasurer at a ceremony with his fellow team mates.
Mr Reid said it was quite an honour to achieve the award and it had been an honour to serve the people but what he enjoyed most was the comradeship with his fellow volunteers.
“I did not expect the award or even know about it, we had our meeting last week and the guys presented me with the medal it was nice,” he said.
Mr Reid moved to Kaloorup from Karratha in 1987 and said back then you could not help but be involved in the volunteer bushfire brigade because there were not many people living in the district.
“Everybody had to do something and I got landed with the secretary treasurers job which I have now done for 20 years,” he said.
Over the years, Mr Reid said the brigade had changed which was mainly due to the emergency services levy which more people now paid.
“We used to have two fire trailers the community had bought, that was all we had and someone would tow the trailer behind their vehicle,” he said.
“We are very well equipped now, but it never stops there is always something extra to add on.”
Mr Reid said it was great to see young people getting involved in the volunteer bush fire services because a lot of the volunteers were getting “older and older.”
“We have one female volunteer which is really great and we would like encourage more women to join as well, it is not just a blokes game and it is nice to have young people who want to join.”
Mr Reid said being the secretary treasurer involved organising meetings, contacting the volunteers when they were needed during fires and looking after the station.