Josh Martin, a member of the Ballarat City Fire Station Brigade, has been nominated for a gong in the inaugural Spirit of CFA Awards, which will be held in Ballarat this month.

Mr Martin is heavily involved in raising awareness of PTSD through a walking event called Walking Off the War Within following the death of his colleague Nathan Shanahan in 2016.

“It was a surprise being nominated, I’ve just seen the email myself,” Mr Martin said yesterday. “I found out I was nominated by another staff member.

“Walking Off the War Within is not about raising money, it’s about raising awareness of PTSD.

“It was good to see a lot of families out there last March, our families are the ones that go through this with us.”

The new  awards aim to recognise the outstanding dedication and extraordinary lengths CFA people go to in helping one another and the community.

CFA chief executive Paul Smith said he was pleased with the high number and calibre of nominations from across Victoria.

“The quality of all the entrants was outstanding and I’d like to particularly recognise the finalists whose fine work epitomises the values of this great organisation,” he said. “We look forward to many years of Spirit of CFA Awards.”

Winners will be announced at the Spirit of CFA Awards ceremony, which will be held on May 20 at Ballarat’s Mercure Hotel.