Volunteer firefighting is a family affair for the Cameron family, who share a combined 115 years of service to the Edendale Fire Brigade. On Saturday, Brendon Cameron was awarded his 25-year Gold Star for the brigade — the fourth in his family to receive the award. Mr Cameron’s father, Wayne, and his brothers, Reece and Scott, were on hand at the Wyndham Town Hall to celebrate the occasion. Brendon Cameron said he grew up around the brigade during his father’s 28 years of service. He joined the brigade when he returned to the area after studying in Dunedin and living in Perth. “My younger brothers joined up, Scott and Reece, so they were members. I had friends that were members. “Because I had asthma, I couldn’t join initially. So they created a new role called operational support which allowed me them to recruit me. “A month after I joined, I was appointed as brigade secretary and it’s been 25 years,” he said. Brendon Cameron said he knew of a couple of families with three golds, but said it would be hard to find a family with more collective hours than his. “We’re the first family that we know of around here that has achieved four gold stars in a family. “That’s something we’re truly proud of,” he said. Surrounded by friends and family, including a friend from Perth who flew in for the occasion, Brendon Cameron said it was that kind of companionship he had treasured over the years. “For me, it’s the camaraderie. It’s the social aspect. Good friends and colleagues, people you can rely on. We’ve had some pretty fun times. “Some of the jobs can be really interesting and the work I’ve done, I really enjoyed doing it. “It’s very rewarding work. We have a great connection to the community — they really respect what we’re doing. We get a lot of positive feedback from people we’ve helped. It just means a lot,” he said.
