LOCAL LIFE
ONE OF THE HILLS FINEST... by Lorna Gordon
Middle Dural Rural Fire Service celebrated its 80th anniversary in August, and this happy event was attended by volunteers and special guests, including Superintendent Glen McCartney and Mayor, Doctor Michelle Byrne.
As one of the regions oldest brigades, Middle Dural RFS and its 64 volunteers have some stories to tell. It’ s a close knit team of dedicated people, all of whom give up their time free of charge to
The volunteers of the Middle Dural Rural Fire Service.
help people they don’ t know when bad situations arise.
I spoke to Maroun‘ Morrie’ Maait, Captain for Middle Dural RFS, about the brigade and their recent anniversary. Morrie joined the RFS after the 2003 fires broke out near Glenorie; he saw the impact the firefighters made and committed to become a volunteer himself.
“ During the fires that affected Glenorie I helped out as much as I could. After that, I decided to join and get the training needed to be part of the RFS.”
Morrie has 23 years of service under his belt and has progressed through the ranks to captain. He’ s not the only member of his family who are in the brigade- his daughter Emilia and nephew Christopher Ziader joined him as volunteers.
Morrie explained that it has been a fantastic way to bond with his daughter, and that they have become very close because of time spent together training and helping the community.
Middle Dural RFS attracts families who like to keep up a tradition of service; one family currently has three generations serving the community.
The Best family has had five generations of volunteers, with current patriarch, Len Best still working after 66 years of service. Len joined the in 1958 and his father and grandfather also worked in there. Len was the captain of the Brigade for 25 years, only recently stepping down to become deputy captain. During his time serving he is one of the people who fought many of the larger fires, including the 2019 / 2020 Black Summer Fires. Len received his 65 year service bar last year and is still playing an active part in the brigade.
The family’ s dedication to volunteering encouraged his son, Jeff to join up and following in their footsteps and grandson, Aiden, is now the fifth generation of the Best family to serve the community- a legacy that very few families will be able to claim.
The women of the Cameron family have all joined a well, with mum, Jo, and daughters Jess, Iona and Alix working alongside her.
Max Schuddedoom, his wife Janette and son Steven are all part of the team of volunteers and all three of them were on the same crew during the 2020 bush fires.
Marielle Taylor and her daughters Alexis and Chrissy also serve with Middle Dural, however husband, Jason, volunteers in a different local brigade, which I’ m sure leads to a fair bit of family rivalry in that household!
Morrie told me that even when
6 ISSUE 124 // OCTOBER 2025 theindependentmagazine. com. au THE HILLS INDEPENDENT