Gary Patzwald 282 Connolly Road Telephone: 0746 966158 Geham. Queensland. 4352 Mob: 0418 700 276 Email: [email protected] BACKGROUND: As my dad was a fire fighter with the then Cabarlah Bushfire Brigade, I started fire fighting at an early age helping him using a wet wheat bag or a tree branch. Our equipment was a privately owned Chev Blitz with a 400 gallon tank and a centrifugal pump driven by a modified Indian motor bike. I have been helping with the brigade ever since. I am married with a wife and two children, 17 and 21. We live on the family farm at Geham. I have experience in a wide range of jobs starting as a delivery boy in a sports store, shovelling coal at a brick yard, a welder manufacturing farm machinery, D9 dozer operator building dams, crane /plant operator at 3 major construction sites to a self employed earthmoving contractor for 30 years operating dozers, backhoes, excavators, loaders and tip trucks. I am currently employed by the Toowoomba Regional Council as a multi skilled operator. FIRE BRIGADE EXPERIENCE • RFBAQ Support Representative for Toowoomba for 1 ½ years (currently acting Rep) • 1st Officer of the Cabarlah Rural Fire Brigade for 6 years • Treasurer of the Cabarlah Rural Fire Brigade for 4 years • Chairperson of the Cabarlah Rural Fire Brigade for 10 years • Deputy Group Officer for the Crow’s Nest Group (now Eastern Downs Group) for 4 years • Attend Toowoomba Local Area Finance Council and the Toowoomba District Fire Managers Forum (6 years) • Mentor for Crew Leader and other training courses conducted for the SW Region (ongoing) • Fire Warden Cabarlah Area • Awarded the “Volunteer of the Year” in 2010 for the South West Region SOME MAJOR EVENTS ATTENDED • 1978 Cooby / Cabarlah fire (fire fighter) • 2002 Toowoomba Range fire (fire fighter, dozer operator) • 2004 Crow’s Nest fire (dozer operator) • 2009 Lead strike team to NSW, 7 units from SW area (St rike Team Leader) .