Battling fires isn't for everyone but that's exactly what Medowie's John Pociask has been doing for nearly five decades.
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The 73-year-old retiree has just been awarded life membership with the Medowie Rural Fire Service (RFS), where he has been a volunteer for 46 years serving in many different roles, including as s senior deputy captain.
"Medowie was a much smaller community back then. Fighting fires isn't for everyone but someone has to look after the community and I enjoy the work," Mr Pociask said.
Born in 1947 in a displaced persons' camp to Polish parents, John migrated to Australia in 1950, settling in a migrant camp at Greta. He has been married for 47 years and has three children and seven grandchildren.
Mr Pociask said he has witnessed some dramatic changes since joining the Medowie RFS and was a founding member when the name of the volunteer organisation changed from the old Rural Fire Brigade to Rural Fire Service.
"Only men could join the brigade in the early days and the women joined the women's auxiliary, mainly doing all the behind-the-scenes work and catering. We had to supply our own uniform and equipment and claim it back through tax and all the training was done on the job.
"There have been some dramatic cultural changes since then, with all roles now open to both women and men and there have been huge advances in firefighter training and equipment.
"Today we are no longer just a 'bush' fire brigade, we could be called to a range of incidents from bush and structural fires to car accidents."
Mr Pociask said these day he was happy to leave the physical firefighting to the more agile members, while he remains involved through the community engagement team.
"Community engagement plays just as vital a role as frontline firefighting. This last fire season has shown that we can't have enough trucks for every home but if we can educate the community on what to do if a fire threatens and how to best prepare, we have a far greater chance of protecting lives and property." The RFS is manned by volunteers 24/7, 365 days a year as a community service.
Mr Pociask was the 12th member to be awarded life membership in the Medowie brigade's 75 years of service.
