ALMOST 1500 years of volunteer service with the Country Fire Authority was recognised at Newbridge on Sunday.
Medals were presented to brigade members by the CFA’s Darren Crawford, among them a 65-year award for former captain Ray Kelly.
Mr Kelly joined in 1956 after watching the brigade’s running team train at the recreation reserve.
“I had been riding my bike and saw the demonstration team on the track. I thought I would have a go,” Mr Kelly said.
Six years later he set the state record of 11.3 seconds in the rope climb event. The record will never be broken with the event no longer in championship programs.
“Seven years later I was at the brigade meeting and went home as captain,” Mr Kelly said, serving in the position from 1969 to 1984.
“Everyone plays their part in the brigade, we help each other and join together when the fire calls come.
“I can remember one fortnight some years ago when there was lots of lightning, we had two or three calls at the same time and all the district brigades were kept busy.”
Current captain Jason McDonald, only the sixth leader of the brigade in more than a century, received a 35-year medal.
He said the Newbridge brigade had recruited six new members this year. 
“That’s been our biggest intake for a long time and says the future of our brigade is looking bright,” he said. “And we had one of our busiest years with 24 incidents, fires and accidents.”
Medal presentations to members unable to be at Sunday’s ceremony will be made in coming months. Among them, Newbridge’s long-serving member David Heather who will receive the CFA’s 70-year service medal.
10-year: Jakob O’Keefe, Michelle Stewart. 15-year: Jon Holland, Simon Cole, Kylie Collins. 
20-year: Nick Punton, Warren Collins, Kevin McDonald, Merilyn Moyle, Steven Pickering. 
25-year: Greg Pickering, Phil Scholes, Mark Tuohey, Daniel O’Keefe, Harry Moyle, Trevor Collins, Gerard Collins, Wendy Metelmann, Anthony Scholes. 30-year: Merrill Cole, Peter Pollock, Christopher Ramsay. 
35-year: Jason McDonald, William Stewart, Shirley Heather, Thomas Evans, Graeme Collins, Peter Hamilton, Tony Holland.
40-year: Hedley Price, Lorna Stewart, Gladys Scholes, Julie Ramsay, Graeme Stewart. 
45-year:  Jim Metelmann, Christopher Lumber, Glen Cole. 
50-year: Fraser Ramsay, Ian Pickering, John Steel, Robert Pollock. 55-year: Alan Scholes. 
65-year: Ray Kelly. 70-year: David Heather.