Country Fire Authority Dereel brigade
Michaela SETTLE (Eureka) (13:02): Last Wednesday at 6:30 pm the VicEmergency app pinged with a warning of a grass fire in Dereel. With 37-degree heat, a gusting north wind and the spectre of 2013, Dereel CFA kicked into action. Help came from far and wide, and in under an hour there were over 70 crews on the ground and up to 12 air wing above. By 9:30 pm it was contained. No homes were lost, and there was a unit in every driveway. Some people said it was a miracle that it was harnessed so quickly, but it was not a miracle. It was the rapidly deployed aircraft, it was the selfless volunteers from New South Wales and across Victoria, it was FRV strike teams and it was the decades of training by the Dereel CFA. It was their deep knowledge of the terrain. It was knowing when to take a stand so the fire would not cross the Colac-Ballarat Road. It was a brigade who are the pride of their community. Twelve local firefighters fought for their town, each and every one of them a miracle. So to captain Robert Hill, Darryn Hill, Justine Dirago, Steven Moulder, Dimitrios Georgalas, Nathan Delaney, Sharon Dirago, Ryan Ditchburn, Gregory Fadersen, Danny May, Lauren Minns and Ashley Owen I say thank you.