A local fiery with a big heart - Peter Conn has seen the good times and the bad, but what gets him through it knowing he’s doing good things for good people.
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He is one of just seven Australians this year to receive the Australian Fire Service Medal, recognising his 36 years of tireless volunteer work, on call 24 hours a day 7 days a week.
The group captain of the Wellington Area said he thought they had the wrong person when he heard the news and that it had been incredibly humbling.
Starting off when he was just 18 years old, Mr Conn said joining the Comobella Brigade in 1979 was a necessity that came with living on the land.
His uncle was captain at the time and his father was also in the brigade.
The work hasn’t always been easy, and there have been tough times attending fatalities, especially those involving children.
“The good that you’re doing is what gets you through; helping people,” he said.
“The good that you’re doing is what gets you through; helping people,”
- Peter Conn
Her believes that there is no golden rule when it comes to volunteer service either, it all comes down to experience and thinking quickly and strategically to minimise the impact of a fire.
“You never know how bad it is going to be, you just have to deal with it when it happens.”
Like Mr Conn, there are a lot of talented fire fighters in the area and last year his team won the state championships, comprising of his two sons, two members from the Elong Elong brigade, and one from Eumungerie.
While the future of volunteer service is unknown, he has noticed a lot of young people joining, especially in Geurie.
“And we have got some really good volunteers who do a lot of work for the community,” he said.
“I enjoy training and getting young people involved, it’s really good to train young people and teach them things that are better, easier and safer; get them into service to the community.
Since Mr Conn joined the NSW Rural Fire Service as a volunteer firefighter with the Comobella Brigade in 1979, he has held the positions of Permit Officer, Training Officer, Secretary, Treasurer, Senior Deputy Captain and Captain within the brigade. Peter was also a very active member of the Wellington Training Committee and when it closed became a member of the Orana Training Group where he remains a very active and supportive member.
"The integrity he shows is deserving of the highest recognition."
Peter was elected as a Group Captain in 2001 a position he still holds. As a senior volunteer he chairs the Captains and Group Captains meetings, is the Chairperson of the Senior Management Committee and is a member of the Orana Bushfire Management Committee. He was also instrumental in the teaming of the Dubbo, Narromine and Wellington Council's Rural Fire Brigades to form the Orana Team.
He is well known and respected by his peers in the Orana Senior Management Group and his advice and assistance is regularly sought by members of the group. He regularly volunteers his service above and beyond that expected of a Group Captain and is willing to assist with the Incident Management team with Incidents received over the Wellington call 000 system to which he responds.
