After almost 26 years as a local firefighter and 10 years as captain of Deniliquin Fire + Rescue NSW, Martin Smith has hung up his helmet and boots for good.
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His dedication will be honoured this weekend, with an official farewell on Saturday.
Mr Smith said it marks the end of a part of his life that has been both rewarding and challenging.
“I wanted to become a firefighter to serve the community and to be part of a group for the teamwork and camaraderie,” he said.
“The most challenging part of our job is that the majority of the time, we meet people in our community when they are at their worst, witnessing a fire that has destroyed their family home and or possessions.
“But being regularly exposed to this situation, you soon learn how to be compassionate and calming.
“I’ve also attended some of the major bush fires in NSW and Victoria, and I have seen the results of these major events - before and after the fire has passed - and the devastation it leaves behind.
“During these events, you will meet other firefighters that you have been tasked with from other stations, and the friendships that you make there are for a lifetime.”
Mr Smith said other challenges include the on call nature of the job, which can take you away from family and paid work.
He said the only way to get through it is to have a supportive group of people around you.
“I will not miss the fire calls in the early morning, at tea time, at work, at the supermarket or watching a good game of footy, but it’s what happens when you are an on-call firefighter serving your community to protect lives, property and the environment.
“I have missed family and friends’ birthdays and celebrations, watching grandkids play sport on the weekends, and I’ve not been able to go on holidays when there were not enough senior members on duty.
“My family has been totally supportive in my career, knowing of the sacrifice and commitment that we have had to make to ensure our community is safe.
“So it’s not just me who has served 25 years - my wife Tanya and daughter Nicole have too. It’s a partnership, and they are just as important in terms of my success as I am,
“I would also like to thank previous and present employers and work colleagues for giving me the opportunity to attend calls at a moment’s notice, as well as past and present crew, the station management team and the Zone management for your support, dedication and friendship in my service at Station 278 Deniliquin.”
Mr Smith’s first day as a firefighter was December 15, 2000.
And after 15 years of dedicated service, he became the 17th captain appointed to the top job since the brigade was formed in 1878.
Mr Smith said while the role of a firefighter has never changed in that time, the methods of protection have evolved significantly.
“When I started, we had just a small pager to alert you of a fire call and our home landline would also ring, usually when you would be talking to someone on the phone,” he said.
“In the appliances back then, there was a radio that we could talk to our comms centre in Katoomba and another radio to talk back to the station.
“Now we have pagers that we can see what the job is and use the pager to advise if we are attending the call or not, and come through to our mobile phones.
“We still have a comms radio in the appliances, but with better coverage now due to better networking radio towers, mobile network and satellite phones.
“In the appliances now we have mobile data terminals that displays the job that you are attending, location with mapping, which also shows other appliances from nearby stations with their time of arrival at the incident.
“There are other maps that include hydrant locations, weather details, drainage plans and other utilities.
“The MDT also has information on standard operational guidelines for different incident types and information for all types of vehicles, including electric vehicles and hybrids so we know where to make isolations to make the vehicles safe to work around.
“When on the fireground, our helmets are equipped with lights and head sets to communicate back to the incident controller or the pump operator, and our turnout gear has improved immensely over time to better protect us from harm.
“Training is now structured so that all firefighters are learning the same way, to enable us to work and communicate efficiently on the fireground with other crews.”
In his time as captain, Mr Smith implemented new policies and training which not only improved individual skills but enhanced teamwork and efficiency.
He said some of the other highlights of his time as captain included increasing community engagement, including the now annual Royal Children’s Appeal efforts and participating in the Deniliquin High School’s Driver Education Program.
“When I first became captain, there was limited training or support.
“The greatest achievement would have to be implementing new policies and procedures, so the crew could move with the new way of firefighting and communication on the fireground.
“We kept practising so that, now, any member of the crew at station 278 can confidently be an incident controller. This shows when we attend incidents with other stations, and we’re well advanced in the way we conduct operations.
“We now have structured drills, incident management training and systems to manage jobs that all stations complete, so crews from different stations can work together and understand communications to conduct firefighting operations.”
While he has taken a step back from the fire service, Mr Smith is not fully retired.
“I still have a full time job at WaterNSW that keeps me busy, and I plan to finish renovation projects with the time I usually spend at the station.
“With the small community we have, I will continuously be seeing and talking with the fellow firefighters and other emergency service personal that I have created friendships with.”