The Hunter River Times

He has been put his community first for nearly a quarter of a century.

Now Denman Fire and Rescue NSW captain Gavin Bray is calling time on his career as a firefighter so that he can spend more time with his beautiful family.

“This might be the last time I put on the uniform,” he told The Hunter River Times earlier this month before posing for a photo.

The highly respected leader commenced his career in 1996 before he was elevated to the role of deputy captain in 2001.

Bray would eventually go down in history as Denman’s second captain in 2015 when taking over from long serving inaugural leader Ivan Burkill.

Yet he proved to be more than just a name within the walls of the 283 station on account of his passion and leadership.

“Our organisation can help people in their worst moments, and I am so proud to have been part of it,” he explained.

“We make things safe or we completely return to things as they should have been.”

The highly respected Bray has donned the uniform with esteem when attending callouts across the Denman and Sandy Hollow region.

Some have been swift while others he revealed were traumatising for those on the scene.

“There is always something about being at a fatality that doesn’t feel right but it does happen and we are the frontline people to help and prevent that loss of life,” he said.

“In the event that a person is deceased someone has to be there to help that person with the final part of their journey because it has to be dealt with.”

Bray has also experienced two memorable bushfires.

His brigade assisted the Rural Fire Service in his first year when a ‘Section 44’ (State of Emergency) size fire burnt out halfway to Sandy Hollow along the Bylong Valley Way.

“Then last year (2019) was probably the worst one,” he added.

“On both catastrophic dates the epicentre for the state was in the Upper Hunter for all factors from the due point, humidity, wind and temperature.”

Ultimately, Bray had the vision to make his station the main training hub for the Upper Hunter due to its central location as well as its whopping land size.

He was able to upgrade station’s training yard through the additions of a fence, a pad for car crash rescue and a power pole for simulated incidents.

He also had the opportunity to send a six-person team to represent NSW at the Australasian Road Rescue Organisation’s championships held in New Zealand.

“What I think we gained the most from was the experience those six brought back to the station,” he admitted.

“We had a serious head on collision involving two young males trapped and we were the first rescue on the scene.

“To sit there and watch my crew get to work seamlessly made me feel very pleased as soon as the young fella was out and on the Westpac helicopter.”

That same year Bray’s brigade became a Community First Responder Unit, a responsibility he will also hold close to his heart.

“We had to work with Ambulance NSW, do immunisations, medicals and an extra CFR drill per month on top of the two we already do for fire drills,” he explained.

Last year Bray was recognised as one of three recipients of the coveted Australian Fire Service Medal (AFSM).

“I remember opening a letter that said I was being nominated to be considered and I just felt overwhelmed because my focus was always on my crew and their welfare,” he reflected.

“I was quite humble to be there, it was a very well-run ceremony run by the Australian Defence Force personnel.”

“My youngest daughter was running around saluting them all and then she asked if this was where Megan and Harry lived?

“I think the question was innocently genuine because government house (host venue) looks like a castle; certainly, a building that I had never been in before.”

He acknowledges that he was not able to achieve such a long tenure without the love and support of his wife Kim and his children throughout the journey.

“I had to acknowledge and recognise how busy my life was at home with six children and three still at school (one in primary),” he concluded.

“I was starting to miss a lot and my wife didn’t ask for anything, she was running the ship in my absence.

“But I could tell that if I didn’t make a change soon then I was going to miss too much.”

Denman firefighter Steven Kendall has been appointed as the station’s deputy for the coming weeks.