TEN CFA District Mechanical Officers (DMOs) from the North East region have been honoured with National Emergency Medals for their efforts in the 2019-2020 Australian bushfire crisis.

The National Emergency Medal is part of Australia’s Honours and Awards system and recognises significant or sustained service to others in a nationally significant Australian emergency.

At a presentation at the Wangaratta CFA DMO Workshop last month the recipients became the latest of more than 5500 CFA members to receive the honour for the 2019-2020 fires.

CFA board member Ross Coyle AFSM presented the medals and said they were an important recognition of the valiant efforts of CFA members.

“The National Emergency Medal is a formal recognition that Australia appreciates the efforts and contributions of CFA members during the 2019-2020 bushfire crisis,” he said.

“It is a great honour to receive this medal, and I hope it goes a small way to thanking our members for their service.”

Shepparton DMO, Violet Town firefighter and medal recipient Will Mackrell, who was based out of Wilberforce in NSW for a week, said it was an honour to be formally recognised.

“I was positioned with a strike team alongside three other DMOs and we did all the operational checks of their trucks, making sure that any faults that were found during the day or during use were rectified that night so it could head out again the next day,” he said.

“As a team we were doing all the preventative check overs, making sure the radiators and air filters were clean, and that the tyres and trucks overall were in a good condition.

“Our strike team were tasked with mopping up, blacking out, and asset protection, so we were lucky enough to be a bit away from the fire ground.”

Mr Mackrell recalls the days being long, with early starts to make sure everything was ready to go for all the crews first thing in the morning.

“When the strike team initially travelled up, one of service trucks went up too with a ranger vehicle all stocked with our tools, air filters and oils so we had everything we needed,” he said.

“We had all the trucks we were looking after all parked up at the staging area, and one by one we would check them over utilising our service vehicles.

“Because we knew where they were headed, we knew what conditions they’d be under and what fixes were likely to be required, so if they were going through tight bush tracks, we expected damage, or if they’d done paddock work, then the radiators were going to be full.”

Mr Coyle said CFA’s mechanics play a vital role in keeping CFA’s fleet in the best shape they can be to attend all types of emergency incidents across the state.

"At a campaign fire, their expertise becomes even more crucial to keep our trucks in fine form on the fireground and our firefighters safe," he said.