Inner fire is still burning

Berwick’s Alan Boyd was born over the border in Dandenong, and you could say he was a guy with fire in his belly. However, for most of his life he has been putting fires out.
Alan has been the Berwick Fire Brigade captain for nine years and before that he was a dedicated senior officer on the brigade.
His father, Jim Boyd, and grandfather, Reg Boyd, operated Gippsland Hardware in Lonsdale Street, Dandenong.
Alan is definitely not your average accountant but has established successful accounting, financial planning and mortgagebroking businesses.
He is a longtime CFA volunteer firefighter and brigade leader, a Queen’s Scout, a strong family man, and has championed a number of business and private causes.
Alan was raised in the Dandenong and Lyndhurst district before moving to Berwick with his parents nearly 30 years ago.
He has since established his own family in Berwick with wife Karen and children Matthew, 20, Rachael, 18, and Ben, 17.
He places great value on his childhood and teenage years, many of which were spent on the family farm at Lyndhurst.
Scouting featured heavily in Alan’s early years. He started in Cubs and progressed through Scouts, Venturers and Rovers.
A highlight of his scouting years was receiving his Queen’s Scout honour at Government House in Melbourne.
Alan was for more than 10 years a keen member of the WF Waters Rover Crew which operates a ski lodge at Mt Baw Baw on behalf of the Scout Association.
During his period of leadership, the chalet was doubled in size and extensively refurbished.
“I believe scouting offers youth exciting and challenging opportunities for selfdevelopment and gives excellent grounding in many of life’s personal skills,” he said.
Today his daughter, Rachael, continues the tradition as a keen member of the Narre Warren North Rover Crew.
Another of Alan’s passions is writing and he often describes himself as a frustrated journalist.
He has edited many journals and newsletters, regularly contributes media releases for the fire brigade, and spent 12 years producing a regular feature page for the Weekly Times.
When not in the office or dealing with someone’s emergency crisis, Alan spends his spare time developing the gardens on his property, fourwheel driving and travelling.
Probably the most recognised aspect of Alan Boyd is his unquestionable commitment to the Berwick Fire Brigade and the Country Fire Authority.
Alan joined the CFA back in 1976 when he lived briefly next door to the Hampton Park fire station.
“Living next door to the fire station gave me a chance to realise every lad’s dream of becoming a fireman.”
He transferred to Berwick after six months and today Alan is the captain of the Berwick Fire Brigade and midway into his fifth twoyear term as head of the organisation.
He will have completed 30 years of service to the CFA later this year.
“I have seen many changes during that time. When I joined, we had old Austin tankers with a tank on the back, a pump and pipe railing to hang onto.
“Some of the recent memorable major structure fires would have to be the Berwick Aquarium fire in 2004 and the dry cleaners in 2001.”
He remembers significant blazes such as the Berwick Railway Station in 1978, Barkers Cool Store fire not long after, the Berwick Football Club pavilion in 1984 and many individual house fires.
Firmly etched in his memory are the events of Ash Wednesday, 1983, when he battled the district’s worst fire.
“I spent the afternoon and evening in the King Road, Harkaway area on our pumper.
“We were ordered back to town just before the wind change and were leaving Bruce Gibson’s property in King Road.”
As well as Ash Wednesday, Alan has been involved in many major wildfires, including the northeast fires of 1985, Sydney’s firestorms of 1997, the northeast fires around Mt Hotham in 2003 and, more recently, the Erica/Moondarra Gippsland fires of 2006.
Alan recalls the 2am turnout one morning in 1994 to a motor vehicle accident on the Berwick bypass where he ended up being in charge of the biggest hazardous materials incident ever in the district.
The highway was closed until early afternoon and the 12hour cleanup involved hundreds of CFA and support personnel.
But there is also a lighter side to the work.
“We do get animals out of trees, help mothers get back into their homes after naughty children lock them out, and participate in many local community events.
“Every year, the Berwick Fire Brigade attends between 350 and 550 emergency calls.
“We also attend a large number of vehicle accidents, hazardous material incidents, explosions and other emergencies.
“No doubt the worst part of the job is attending some of the district’s most horrific accidents.”
In 2001, Alan was awarded the prestigious National Medal for services to the CFA above and beyond the normal call of duty.
Alan attended St John’s College in Dandenong and went on to Latrobe University to study agricultural science, a career he did not pursue.
He worked in industry in an accounting role and went on to study parttime for six years and achieve his accounting degree.
His career grew and Alan worked in several major Australian companies.
“I realised along the way that whilst the corporate life was fine I really wanted to work for myself so I established my own accounting practice in Berwick,” he said.