A LOCAL Country Fire Authority (CFA) member has been recognised for his outstanding achievements at the Spirit of CFA Awards ceremony held in Ballarat on Sunday.

The Spirit of CFA Awards recognise significant contributions made by CFA members to both the organisation and their local communities across the state, and cover a variety of individual and team categories.

Hamilton Fire Brigade’s Peter Green was presented with the 2020 Spirit of CFA Inclusion and Fairness Champion Award in this year’s ceremony, which recognises CFA members who demonstrate honesty and fairness, are champions for equality, diversity and inclusion, and encourage and promote physical and mental safety and wellbeing.

Mr Green said he has been a CFA volunteer in Hamilton for 15 years, first joining as an active CFA member at Wonga Park when he was 16.

“I joined CFA as I wanted to follow in my father’s footsteps but also it just felt like the right thing to do to help in the community,” he said.

Mr Green left CFA after six years but re-joined after the 2009 Black Saturday fires, firstly with the District 5 Brigade and then the Hamilton Brigade in 2010.

He said what he has witnessed and endured over the years will stay with him forever.

“I broke down with PTSI (post-traumatic stress injury) and a conversion disorder in February 2016 after attending to a horrific car versus truck accident,” he said.

However, rather than letting the experience control his life, he made it his goal to ensure no one would ever have to go through a breakdown like he did through running mental health and wellbeing presentations to Brigades and groups in the south-west region.

With assistance from District 4 and 5 peer team coordinator, David Ferguson, and former wellbeing advisor, Trudy Dellar, Mr Green has been able to tell his story and challenge the status quo at CFA Disctrict 4 and 5, by breaking down barriers and encouraging people to feel comfortable speaking about their mental health.

While the COVID-19 pandemic brought his presentations to a stop over the past two years, Mr Green said he was now looking forward to starting them back up again in a COVIDSafe way.

“The presentations touch on my story and what I have been through, but the most important part is talking about how to help and engage yourself and others who you feel may be struggling with a mental health condition,” he said.

Along with presenting to CFA members, Mr Green has also presented to nurses, ambulance members, and nursing/para-medicine students.

Mr Green also volunteers for the Black Dog Institute where he speaks about mental health to numerous community groups and high school students, even starting the ‘Pete & The Black Dog’ Facebook page for those who can’t attend a talk.

“Working through the claims process of a PTSI claim has not been without its challenges,” he said.

“It is an area that is still evolving and one that compensable bodies are learning along the way.

“Part of my mission is to make it easier for people to claim and make the process a lot smoother for them.”