David and his granddaughter Chelsea
It truly is a family affair when it comes to the State Firefighter Championships and Horsham Fire Brigade volunteer David 'Sparks' Hornsby.
David, an electrician, has been involved with the Championships for more than 30 years. Now, his son Jonathan is the Horsham Juniors coach and granddaughter Chelsea, 12, has started running for the Juniors.
He said he started competing in the Championships when they the team didn't have enough members one weekend and he agreed to help.
David competed as a runner, then was Juniors coach for 10 years and is currently the assistant Juniors coach.
His other two children Sarah and Matthew have also been involved in the competition.
David said the event gave children something to do.
“When you go away to competitions you catch-up with people that you competed with as a Junior, then as a senior,” he said.
“Every competition helps Juniors decide if they want to keep going and join the brigade.
“They know how to put a hydrant in and how to squirt water. What they learn at the competition is a good start to being a firefighter if they want to continue down that line.”
But he says the Championships is not always about winning.
“Thirty teams aren’t going to win, but you put in your best and have fun doing it and afterwards sit around the camp and catch up,” he said.
David said they now have former Juniors in the brigade who competed years ago and would recommend others to take part in the competition.
“It’s a good way to keep fit and keep the skills up around a fire. What you do in the competition does carry on to the brigade and into CFA,” he said.