A moving show of camaraderie from junior firefighter Daniel Neilson earned Chiltern a special commendation at the Volunteer Fire Brigades State Championships.
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Competing in a timed hydrant and tanker event on Sunday at Colac, the 12-year-old abandoned his post to help out a teammate.
“When the bowl happened, the hose went out towards the out of bounds and I rescued it,” he said.
“Everyone said ‘good job’.”
Team manager Kurtis Hickling said the move, which Daniel knew would have cost the team time, was a major reason the team received the VFBV state president encouragement award.
“The chief officer nominated a brigade for the way they conducted themselves and the team spirit,” he said.
“I had a chat with them afterwards and they were particularly impressed with young Daniel.
“He saw that someone else needed a hand and his priority was to help them out.”
Mr Hickling said it wasn’t the first time Daniel had been commended by the CFA on a state level, as one of Chiltern’s first firefighters on the autism spectrum.
“The best part about it was many people had no idea about Daniel’s autism … what was special about the award was we were judged equally,” he said.
Daniel’s mum, Tammy, said her son was ecstatic to compete in the state championships for the first time.
“Me and his Dad are really proud of him for doing his best and learning it’s a good thing to help your team mates,” she said.
Junior and senior squads from Chiltern and Baranduda represented District 24, competing against 35 other teams across the weekend.
The Chiltern A division group became state champions in the hose and ladder event with a time of 15.22 seconds and also took home a bronze in a tanker event.
Team members wore black armbands in memory of fellow brigade member, Barnawartha truck driver Wayne Martin.
“A lot of us ran with Wayne, when he was active,” he said.
“The last couple of years he’s missed out with his work, which is a shame because we loved having him around.
“When the idea was brought up we were quick to say yes, that was the least we could do as a brigade.”
CFA chief officer Joe Buffone congratulated the young Chiltern team on the encouragement award.
“I look forward to watching these juniors become the future of CFA,” he said.
