Lance King is CFA volunteer life member with over 40 years’ service. He joined CFA in 1977 after previously being a junior member and his passion for serving the community has grown ever since.
“I originally signed up as a runner to keep fit in the off season of footy,” Lance said.
“I knew the seniors needed some new blood so I decided to stay on as a firefighter.”
Lance is among a well deserving group of firefighters who receive an Australian Fire Service Medal today as part of the Governor General’s Queen’s Birthday Honours.
The Honours provide national and formal recognition for hundreds of Australians across Australia who has made a significant difference to their communities.
Lance is well respected among his peers at the Yallourn North Fire Brigade who nominated him for the Australian Fire Service Medal.
“I was chuffed when I was approached by my fellow members about the nomination and I was pretty proud when I heard I was going to be a recipient of the award,” he said.
Lance has given back to his community in many ways. Other than his significant role as a volunteer firefighter he is the Emergency Coordinator for Latrobe City Council.
Lance’s role requires a great deal of leadership and ability to create innovative solutions which he attributes to his experience as volunteer firefighter.
In 2009 Lance was seconded to work with the Municipal Association of Victoria where he was instrumental in the implementation of an incident management system, which is now used by 75 councils.
Lance’s passion for strengthening communities especially within the fire and incident management space is evident in both his personal and working life.
“I’ve worked for Latrobe City for 17 years and without my link to CFA I’m sure I may never have gotten the job.
“My role with CFA has helped my professional life and my work has helped my role with CFA. I’ve been very lucky.”
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:
- Chief Officer Steve Warrington
- Allan Cracknell
- Warren Curry
Author: CFA Media