Bill's still fighting fires

When Bill Stone started as a volunteer firefighter 50 years ago, all he was armed with was a wet hessian bag.

In half a century of volunteer service, he has seen houses and sheds burn to the ground, firefighting technology evolve and has been surrounded by massive flames.

“When I first started there was no such thing as overalls, helmets and gloves — I just went in as I am,” Mr Stone said.

“It was dirty and dusty – very hard work.

“The worst fire was in the Ferguson Valley about 1992, we had a change of wind and ended up with 40-foot flames behind us.”

Mr Stone, from Burekup, was one of 66 West Australians awarded a 50 Year Volunteer Service badge by the State Government as part of International Volunteer Day yesterday.

He was honoured alongside other volunteers at a Thank a Volunteer Day event held by Volunteer South West yesterday.

Seniors and Volunteering Minister Robyn McSweeney said volunteers were the “threads of our social fabric.”

“To have dedicated this amount of time of one’s life is a remarkable achievement and we should all be very proud to have these people living in communities across WA,’’ she said.

Mr Stone said he was “very proud” to be recognised.

“I’m still involved with the Waterloo Fire Brigade, and I hope to keep going as long as possible,” he said.

Mr Stone started volunteering as a teenager with the Burekup Fire Brigade, where he served for 30 years.

He then joined the Waterloo Brigade, where he has provided another 20 years’ service.