Malcolm Nicolson, volunteer firefighter

On September 12, the Shoreham Rural Fire Brigade (SRFB) celebrates 75 years as a volunteer run service.

As firefighter Andrew Young told the Shoreham Community Association’s AGM last month, it all started after someone raised the idea in a meeting at the Old School Hall, now the Community Hall.

At that stage, the Country Fire Authority (CFA) had been operational for four years and helped Shoreham locals realise their dream of having a formally recognised brigade of its own.

And in 1949, the little community started raising funds for equipment. There are now 17 firefighters serving Shoreham and Point Leo.

The rural fire brigade has gone from strength to strength, although Andrew stressed it still needs new recruits. Now also known as the Shoreham CFA, there’ll be a big celebration at the Christmas party this year.

Ahead of that, we’ve spoken to Dr Malcolm Nicolson, who has been a brigade volunteer for an incredible 40 years. He’s the longest serving captain of the brigade and one of its longest serving firemen.

He and his partner Lee still live in the mud brick house they built in Shoreham in the late 1970s.

Their son, Calum, is following the family tradition of giving back and is also a volunteer firefighter.

We started by asking Malcolm what prompted him to start helping all those years ago.

Malcolm: I joined the Shoreham Rural Fire Brigade in 1983 straight after the Ash Wednesday bushfires. Volunteering had been a part of the role model of my parents, which had an impact on my values. The only volunteer organisation in Shoreham was the SRFB, and the 1983 fires provided the impetus to act on those thoughts.

SCA: What’s your day job and how do you juggle the two responsibilities?

Malcolm: I teach at Somers School Camp and work a nine-day fortnight with shift work that affords me more time to be able to turn out to incidents. As a volunteer, I turn out when I am available. If I’m at work, obviously I can’t.

During the big campaign fires, with very short notice, my workplace will release me on Emergency Services Leave.

I’ve have been on many strike teams to campaign fires. East Gippsland numerous times, the Dandenong Ranges, the You Yangs area, Queensland and Echuca for floods.

A big fire is like Ovid’s Caledonian boar – a monster to be kept at a safe distance. The power and energy it releases is indescribably overwhelming. As a crew leader, my main responsibility is to get my crew home safely. That aim outweighs all others.

SCA: What would you like to see homeowners and holiday makers doing better?

Malcolm: I prefer to call home owners “community members” and recommend that they do what they are doing now: taking responsibility for their property, caring for and being engaged with their neighbours, and supporting the Shoreham Rural Fire Brigade, just as they’ve done in the past. We have a well- resourced brigade operating out of the best volunteer station in the country (by my observation) because our community backs us with both financial and moral support.

I recommend all community members and holiday makers make a fire plan. But the plan SHOULD NOT be to evacuate when you can see the flames. That’s not a plan, it’s a potential disaster. On a gazetted Code Red day, a good plan has you gone the day before.

If you plan to stay and defend, be assured, there will be no water or power and we only have one tanker. It will be at the fire front, not parked in your driveway.

Lastly, remember that when a large incident happens you will not be able to see your hand in front of your face. The conditions are radically different from those in which you made your plan.

One of the greatest risks would be trying to leave Shoreham on the Frankston-Flinders Road in smoke with large volumes of others escaping rural properties and Flinders. Use your imagination to visualise the scenario. Like me as a crew leader, avoid risk. And be insured.

SCA: What are the challenges facing Shoreham and surrounds?

Malcolm: From the perspective of the fire brigade, there are multiple challenges.

The first is climate change which elevates the number and intensity of bushfires and the large fires that I didn’t witness as a young person growing up.

The other challenge is to keep a healthy number of volunteers in both operational firefighting and in non-operational support roles

SCA: What keeps you volunteering?

Malcolm: I love turning out with my son Calum. He inspires me.

I’m still fit enough mentally and physically to be an effective firefighter. It is my major connection with the Shoreham community and it connects me with the community beyond the brigade members.

There’s a special feeling when you come back to the station after a job and reflect on how well you have done. It is important to me that we make the community feel safer.It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.

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Malcolm and his son Calum