It was many years before she joined CFA’s Bannockburn Fire Brigade that Jo Crockett first came across the brigade.
“If it wasn’t for them, I would not be here,” Jo said.
She was just 12 years old when the 1969 Lara fires hit. She was home with her mother and siblings, her dad at a local farm away shearing (he too survived the fire, sheltering under a sheet of iron).
“We were home with mum, next thing we knew the local policeman came in and said you need to evacuate. He piled us into his car and drove us to the next farmhouse.”
Jo tells what happens next in her personal story which forms one of eight told in CFA’s latest Digital Story Telling workshop series.
The workshops were first held in 2013, when CFA teamed up with the Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI) to digitally produce the personal stories of 15 volunteers to create more awareness about CFA volunteers – what they do and why they do it
This State-Government funded digital storytelling project involved volunteers taking part in a workshop, during which their stories were compiled.
Given the success of this project, in 2014, CFA decided to continue the concept and again called for volunteers to come forward and tell their stories. Their videos were officially launched and screened in early May 2015, as part of National Volunteer Week.
Speaking at the launch, CFA Chief Officer Euan Ferguson said the concept of storytelling was powerful.
“It passes on valuable knowledge to future generations and potentially to those young men and women who are considering joining CFA,” he said.
Jo is now Community Safety Officer for the Bannockburn Brigade and remains committed to developing a higher profile for CFA in her community.
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Author: CFA News