International Day of Older Persons

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Ada Spitty, Lovely Banks Fire Brigade

Today, 1 October, is International Day of Older Persons when we celebrate the contributions made by older people and promote the need for inclusive and age-friendly societies.

CFA welcomes the range of ways our older volunteers still make important contributions to their brigades and local communities. Here are two inspirational stories.

Ada Spitty, Lovely Banks Fire Brigade

Ada Spitty, who turns 90 years old next week, is a volunteer with Lovely Banks Fire Brigade in a northern suburb of Geelong. Remarkably, she received her 70-year service medal last year and has seen many changes over the decades.

Both Ada and her husband Norman, 92, are still very much involved in brigade activities. They attend every meeting, brigade training and events. They both help out where they can and Ada prepares all the brigade catering.

“I was eight years old when I moved to Lovely Banks and the brigade was formed a couple of years later,” Ada said. “My father was the captain, and at aged 10 my job was to keep the knapsacks full of water and to keep the leather beaters wet.

“The brigade truck was housed on my father’s property. When I was 14, I’d drive the truck to my father for him to take it to a fire.”

Ada became a firefighter, attending incidents and carrying out roadside burning to create fire breaks, but she gave it up when she got married and raised a family. But because she still wanted to contribute to the brigade, she prepared food for firefighters at incidents – and she still feeds brigade members decades later.

“On training nights I make sure brigade members have sandwiches and party pies,” Ada said, “and I cater other events. In July I did a barbecue for brigade members and their families to make new members feel welcome.”

Brigade Captain Daryl Barber appreciates Ada’s involvement with the brigade.

“Ada’s dad was a founding member of Lovely Banks 80 years ago and Ada has been around the brigade all that time,” Daryl said. “She’s always been an active member of the brigade and is a friendly person who’s happy to help people and lend a hand.

“She contributes to meetings and comes up with ideas for fundraising, as well as preparing all the catering. She comes to the station on hot day responses to make sure the firefighters have food.

“Ada also willingly gives her time to support a range of local community organisations.”

Ada’s husband, Norman, is also keen to help around the station.

“He helps to roll hoses after drills and helps me with the catering,” Ada said. “If there’s something that needs washing or polishing, he’ll do it.”

John Wells, Axe Creek Fire Brigade

CFA’s Planned Burn Taskforce (PGTF) deploys available CFA volunteers to planned burns in districts across Victoria in need of personnel, ensuring there is sufficient support. At its core, the taskforce’s efforts aim to reduce fuel loads. However, the proactive, coordinated approach to the burns not only helps safeguard communities, but also preserves natural habitats and biodiversity.

A volunteer for 45 years, Axe Creek Fire Brigade’s John Wells joined the PBTF in mid-2021, seeing it as an opportunity to support other communities as well as enhance safety and benefit the environment.

“Planned burning is good for both fuel reduction and ecological management. Burning at the right time of year can reduce invasive weeds and grasses, giving native species better conditions for growth and improving habitat for native animals.”

John says his volunteer experience across operational, training and leadership roles was a useful background for being a member of the taskforce, where “there are always different jobs to be done.

“I have undertaken varied jobs from crew leader, driver, crew member, wetting down control lines, setting up water points, lighting up, patrolling, chasing break-aways and blacking out.

“The work may be with unfamiliar crews and in unfamiliar country, but the project is always well prepared, the tasking clear and there is a will to do it thoroughly.

“Weather, fuel and fire behaviour are always changing, so you are learning all the time, and it's stimulating to work with firefighters of varying levels of experience to achieve outcomes that can be clearly seen by the end of a shift.

“Fellow taskforce members are there because they want to be, and they quickly form a team to which everybody contributes and from which everybody learns.”