Fire still burns bright for CFA member Chris Lang

The 75-year-old Lismore sheep farmer doesn’t jump on the back of a truck these days, but his behind-the-scenes volunteer work is still crucial to his brigade.

CFA Lismore brigade member Chris Lang is a nominee in The Weekly Times Heart Volunteer Awards. Picture: Chloe Smith

Chris Lang is a nominee in The Weekly Times Heart Volunteer Awards, supported by the Powercor Country Festival. Nominate a rural volunteer and learn more about the awards here.

People who know Western District farmer Chris Lang know he has put in decades of behind-the-scenes service to the Lismore and Districts CFA brigades.

“He is very humble in his approach in everything he does,” says CFA District Six operations manager Mark Gunning, who has known Chris since 1996.

Chris has been a CFA member for more than 45 years. He has held multiple roles, including group officer for more than a decade, and is now the group communication officer, a job that is a less visible but just as integral.

“He has been in the service a long, long time … and he’s not at all scaling back,” Mark says.

“I’d say god help us if he did, because he wouldn’t be easily replaced.

“He has a respected voice in the fire community across the Western District. When Chris speaks, people listen.”

One of the issues Chris speaks passionately about is the need for local people to have more input into decisions about rural fire prevention strategies.

“It gives us the opportunity to speak on behalf of the environment and the community,” Chris says, explaining why he has remained an active member on so many committees over the years.

He says he would also like to see volunteer brigade captains receive more support, and government and community organisations collaborate more to improve land management outcomes.

Chris may not jump on the back of the truck often these days, but the 75-year-old Lismore brigade member is still the driving force behind many projects, such as managing a database of farmers’ stubble burns to manage safety on high-risk days.

He has also established a camera on the top of Mt Elephant, to help monitor fire activity in the region, which is out of range of all manned fire towers.

“His fire brigade work is representative of his environmental work,” Mark Gunning says. “At a community level, he takes values very seriously.”

Chris says he stays involved in the CFA because he feels it is one of the few remaining organisations that pulls rural communities together.

“The CFA is a really important social network for groups in the country,” Chris says. “Apart from the footy club, the CFA is the last man standing.”

Above all, however, he says he devotes volunteer hours to the group because he enjoys it.

“It is because I like doing it. It is quite exciting,” he explains.

“If something has to be done, and no one else is into that topic, you do it.”

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