Starting at Chelsea Fire Brigade in 1978 as a volunteer, Steve Warrington has risen up the CFA ranks to become our Chief Officer and, now, a proud recipient of the AFSM.
He joined the staff in 1983 and served 14 years as both a staff member and volunteer with his final volunteer years spent at Langwarrin. He then moved through a range of roles including Operations Manager in District 8 and in Community Safety before becoming Deputy Chief Officer in 2008.
“I’ve had a broad experience of CFA from being on a truck to a house fire through a range of hands-on roles during events like the ’03 and ’06 campaign fires and the Brookland Greens Estate and then on to Black Saturday,” Steve said.
“I’m a proud, passionate CFA man and, while events like Black Saturday were traumatic on an individual and organisational level, getting through the hard times just shows us all how resilient we are.”
Steve is all superlatives when he talks about the CFA membership and the professionalism of our “battle-hardened” members, both career and volunteer. When he talks about himself, however, feeling “humbled” is the recurring theme.
“There are so many challenges along the CFA journey,” he said.
“But I’m very privileged to work in a sector that is focused on saving life and property with good professional people.
“I’m immensely proud of what we‘ve collectively achieved. It’s a privileged position to be Chief Officer and I’m very humbled to be the leader of such an amazing organisation.”
Steve and his wife Ali managed to keep the awarding of the AFSM a secret from the five children they share; three daughters and two sons.
“Mum and Dad will also be quite excited as only a Mum and Dad can be,” continued Steve.
“While I’m humbled to receive this personal recognition, the reality is CFA as an organisation has a lot of great people in it, allowing us all to achieve great outcomes for communities.
“That’s what I really reflect on: I’m just one of so many long-serving CFA members.”
Three other CFA members will also receive the Australian Fire Service Medal today, as part of the Governor General’s Queen’s Birthday Honours including:
- Lance King
- Allan Cracknell
- Warren Curry
Author: CFA Media