Tuesday, 31 May 2022 marked 50 years and one month of dedicated service to Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) by the Captain of Bingara Station, John Gill. It was also the end of his esteemed career as a professional fire fighter.
John Gill joined FRNSW on 1 May 1972 and progressed through the Service until his appointment as Deputy Captain of the Bingara Brigade on 1 May 1992. He held this position for just over ten years prior to being promoted to Captain on 1 June 2002 holding this position until his retirement.
A farewell from a distinguished career with FRNSW for John Gill, attended by: Brendan Simpson; Robbie Wighton; Colin Cuell; Wayne Zikan; Ian Underwood; John Gill; Stan Fletcher; David Koch; Shane Turner; David Smith and Chris McCudden..
John was awarded the Australian Fire Service Medal as part of the 2019 Australia Day Awards, which is the highest honour an Australian firefighter can receive. John also has the distinguished honour of being the longest serving member of the Bingara Brigade.
Some of the training John undertook as part of his firefighting career included motor driving, road crash rescue, hazardous materials, and advanced resuscitation. Other tasks undertaken in his various roles have included providing basic emergency life support, general first aid, as well as merit selection for new members of FRNSW.
Regaling tales of life as a firefighter years ago, John recalls relying on the sounding of house bells and town sirens to be notified of fires and rescue events. These days, members carry pagers and/or mobile phones to notify them of jobs to be attended to. Another change of times has seen smoke alarms installed for the elderly and Legacy residents of Bingara.
John continues to remain an active participant of Bingara Community events in his retirement.
