National Emergency Medals awarded to hundreds of Ballarat region firefighters

In fact, the First Lieutenant was just 11 years old when he joined his local junior brigade.

It was no surprise on Sunday, when he was presented with a new bar for his National Emergency Medal - in front of more than 200 other Ballarat personnel who also served during the 2019/2020 bushfires.

"I suppose it's always been a family thing," Mr Parker said.

"Dad is the captain of the Smythesdale brigade, my sister also joined as a junior member when she was 11 and mum has always been on the auxiliary, helping with fundraising."

The journey he began in primary school also took him to the 2009 Black Saturday fires, which resulted in his original National Emergency Medal.

On top of that, the Grampians Health nurse also coordinates a specialist CFA Rehab and Health Monitoring Unit sent out to major fires between Bacchus Marsh and the border.

But in early 2020, that role was a big part of his work in the state's far east. "We started in Walwa, east of Tallangatta, right on the Murray River," Mr Parker said.

"I was there for five days in a strike team, leading five Region 15 appliances. I was doing active firefighting during that time - as well as some backburning.

"The fire was in an area called Pine Mountain on the outskirts of town and was slowly creeping down the hill. We were trying to stop it from reaching the grasslands below because then it would have travelled rapidly and burnt the town."

He said the Walwa captain was eternally grateful - as the tiny crew had spent almost three days holding off the fire, virtually alone.

"In some cases, their own properties had been burnt and they had to attend to that, but couldn't until we came to relieve them," Mr Parker said.

"It gave locals time to do what they needed to do - for example, repair fences to stop wandering animals."

From there, Mr Parker was bused home to Smythesdale but not for long. "Literally the following day I went to East Gippsland. We were based at Swan Reach near Lakes Entrance," he said.

"It was my choice to go. We helped defend properties there where the fire had passed - and our job was to put out hotspots.

"It started to rain so we were sent home earlier than expected."

But he was only home for a few days when the duty called again.

"I went to Bright for about three days - and that was to assist with health monitoring of people working in emergency services," he said.

"Most of the work was with police who may have been in the middle of nowhere all day making sure roads were closed. Some of them were breathing in a lot of smoke.

"The role I had meant monitoring the carbon monoxide in their systems and looking for symptoms like headache and nausea. If necessary we sent them to hospital."

IN OTHER NEWS:

The drama did not end there.

On January 31, 2020, Mr Parker was faced with a major bushfire in his own community.

"There was a fire in Bandy's Road on the outskirts of Smythesdale," he said.

"It was the last major fire of that season for me. It threatened the Skipton Rail Trail and homes on the edge of town."

Mr Parker said his job in healthcare gave him some flexibility to attend fires - but it also helped in other ways.

"What I learn from nursing I bring to the CFA," he said.

"And from the fire brigade I have learned all about communication and leadership in the workplace."

Mr Parker is also one of the youngest ever Group Officers of the Grenville group of brigades which includes Cape Clear, Wallinduc, Mannibadar, Haddon, Linton, Rokewood Junction and Smythesdale.

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