By TOM HAYES

 

TRARALGON local and Erica firefighter John Wood has been recognised for 35 years of service with an Australian Fire Service Medal at this year’s Australia Day honours.

Mr Wood began his career in 1985, attending the School of Forestry in Creswick, which only grew his passion deeper.

“It was the idea of being out in the environment, working alongside great people and having the opportunity to learn new skills,” he told the Express.

“The School of Forestry, in those early years, had a major focus on logging… regeneration of the areas logged using fire as one of the tools was a great learning place.”

Mr Wood works at DEECA (Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action) as an operations manager, working with incident management teams and incident control and operations.

“(I’ve) still got the passion at the moment. I thoroughly enjoy working for DEECA, it’s great to work for and work with,” he said.

Mr Wood has taken a passion for what he has learnt, as well as the sciences behind it.

“I’ve been mentored by some really excellent people over my career, and they had a fairly big involvement in firefighting, so they’ve passed that knowledge onto myself,” he said.

“I’ve just taken a great interest in it and the science behind it as well, and then where I can – pass on my knowledge to the younger generation.”

Mr Wood is currently accredited as a Level 2 incident controller, Level 2 operations officer and has led many taskforces and many incident management teams through some difficult and challenging deployments, with the safety of firefighters his first and foremost priority.

He attended all major fires in Gippsland during his career and has proudly represented Victoria on deployments to New South Wales and Queensland.

He told the Express that he finds pride in his work when he puts his knowledge and skills to the test.

“I think any fire where you can put your knowledge and your skills to the test, and you see an outcome (is important). I’ve been pretty proud of the work we’ve done interstate both in Queensland and New South Wales,” Mr Wood said.

“It’s really warming and beneficial to know that you can help people with your knowledge and skills.”

Mr Wood has been a dedicated trainer and assessor for 20 years in operational Australian Inter-Service Incident Management System (AIIMS) roles, and he also provides significant time and resources to others providing coaching and mentoring in these roles.

He takes pride in giving his time to assist with the development of staff capability in fire roles, building strong relationships with the local community and is well respected.

He has also built and maintains very important relationships with key members of other emergency response organisations. These relationships serve himself and the community well, particularly when bushfires are local.

The 65-year-old, who turns 66 in March, spoke on what the Australian Fire Service Medal means to him.

“It’s an incredible honour. (I’m) absolutely committed to continuing to serve the department and the community,” Mr Wood said.

“It’s not a reflection on my individual efforts; it’s a team effort and all the collaboration of everybody else.

“It’s all about passing on and sharing the knowledge – that’s the way I look at it.”

Mr Wood wished to pass on his thanks to his family and loved ones for their sacrifices made, especially around summer time when Mr Wood is seasonably busy.

He also mentioned that for any young people wishing to get into bush firefighting, that it’s a rewarding career working for DEECA.

“That’s what it’s all about, sharing the knowledge, and enjoying the work you do,” he said.