Bremer Bay Volunteer Fire and Emergency Services First Lt Peter Buckenara up for WAFES individual award

The humble first lieutenant of the Bremer Bay Volunteer Fire and Emergency Service says his nomination for a prestigious award honouring exceptional volunteer fireys is one his “whole crew deserves”.

Veteran firefighter Peter Buckenara is one of three vollies up for the WA Fire and Emergency Services’ Volunteer Fire and Emergency Services individual achievement award.

The award is presented to a volunteer who has gone “above and beyond what is expected of them and made an exceptional contribution over the past 12 months”.

Mr Buckenara, who has been with the brigade for more than 25 years, was modest about his nomination.

“On my own, I can’t do much at all, so in my mind it’s as much an award for me as it is for the whole crew,” he said.

“It’s something for all our guys, so even though it’s my name, it’s a team effort.

“I don’t think I’ve done anything too special. I just try and keep everyone together.”

In his eight years in the top job, the cattle and crop farmer said his crew had been involved with three major fires — mostly in coastal reserve land — that had run for 10 days or more.

His proudest work, however, is the fires that didn’t happen.

“Our biggest achievements have been the prescribed burning program,” he said.

“We’ve had it going for six, seven years in earnest, and it’s been well supported by the Shire and the community.

“For us, rather than fires, its the work we do preventing them.

“It’s not for everyone or everywhere, but for our community and our type of bush it works really well.”

Bremer Bay, Mr Buckenara boasts, is a very volunteer-oriented town.

“It’s not a tough decision to become a member of a brigade like ours,” he said.

“We have a really high volunteer rate in Bremer — just about everyone in town volunteers in some way.

“It’s partly to do with our isolation, I think. We have to look after ourselves and each other.”

It’s not a tough decision to become a member of a brigade like ours.

The camaraderie between brigades in the volunteer network, the community, and the understanding of family is something else he says is deserving of recognition.

“It’s crews coming from thousands of kilometres away to help out,” he said.

“It’s the support you get from the local community, who we are super lucky to have because everyone chips in.

“It’s our very understanding wives or husbands and families who keep our businesses and everything afloat while we’re out.

“As I said, you can do nothing on your own.”

Mr Buckenara is up against Carlos Veldscholte from Wyndham Volunteer Fire and Emergency Services and Jayson Lindsay from Cervantes Volunteer Fire and Emergency Services for the award.

The winners will be revealed at the WAFES Awards gala dinner at the Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre on August 29.