Brian Denham: Awards Presentations (20/04/2024)
CFA Service Award: 25 years
Brian Denham was recognised for 25 years of service to CFA. He commenced his CFA service in March 1986 at Beaufort Fire Brigade and also spent time at the old Hillside-Sydenham brigade which later merged with Carolyn Springs Fire Brigade. He spent a short period of time at Bulla brigade before returning to Carolyn Springs ahead of taking a break from CFA in 2013.
He joined Buxton in 2020 and has serviced as our 3rd Lieutenant since July 2022 and is a qualified Structural Firefighter and is also a Hazmat Operator.
National Medal with First Clasp
Brian grew up in a fire service family with his father (and uncle) being involved with the Boronia Fire Brigade. His family moved to Beaufort around 1983 where, shortly after transferring, his father became the Captain of Beaufort Urban Fire Brigade for a period of six years. His mother was a member of the Beaufort Brigade auxiliary for many years.
Brian and Narelle purchased a block of land in the Waters Place estate in 2020 and set about undertaking an owner-builder construction of their new home. Brian applied to join Buxton Fire Brigade not long after that.
According to CFA’s records, Brian first became a CFA member in 1986 with the now deregistered Beaufort Urban Fire Brigade. Somewhere in or around 1991, the Urban and Rural brigades combined into a single brigade with members of each brigade becoming members of the new brigade.
He then moved to the Carolines Springs area which was a new residential development in what used to be called Sydenham on the outskirts of Melbourne. Brian shows as a member of both Hillside-Sydenham and Carolyn Springs brigades with overlapping dates. With rapid development in the area there were various amalgamations of older and newer brigades. Most importantly, records show he served in various roles including as 3rd Lieutenant at the Hillside-Sydenham brigade. He also briefly served with Bulla, Beaufort and (again) Carolyn Springs before taking a break from CFA due to work and family commitments.
Brian is a qualified Structural Firefighter and a great asset to our brigade. He recently completed the Hazmat Operator course which qualifies him to manage hazardous materials incidents (not that we want him to). He is a competent and experienced Compressed Air Breathing Apparatus operator and freely shares his knowledge to help train other members.
He is responsible for the station grounds and maintenance of buildings.
Brian Denham is a worthy recipient of the National Medal with 1st Clasp.
