Lex Wade – a life of fire.

If an organisation is fortunate, it can claim a few colourful characters amongst its ranks. And over its long and proud history, the Forests Commission Victoria (FCV) had its fair share.

Alexander (Lex) Wade was one such character who grew up in the Dandenong Ranges east of Melbourne, and despite his many wanderings always seemed to gravitate back to his beloved hills.

Voluntarily departing Upwey High School in Year 9, Lex took a short-lived apprenticeship with the railways and a few farm labouring jobs.

In 1966 he was recruited onto the Forests Commission works crew at Kallista after a short chat with the well-regarded District Forester, Jim Westcott. Lex had found his “happy place”.

Lex started at the bottom of the pile with a hand slasher cutting fire breaks and as “billy boy” in Sherbrooke Forest. Around the same time, he joined the Kallista & The Patch CFA Brigade, in what became a lifetime affiliation.

Protection from bushfire of the communities and forests of the Dandenong Ranges became an overriding theme for Lex throughout his entire career.

The idea of Mobile Support Crews (MSC) had their origins after the Forests Commission’s Chief Fire Officer, Ted Gill, returned from a study trip to America in the mid-1960s.

Like their American counterparts, better known as Hotshots, Mobile Support Crews were based on the temporary employment of fit young people as mobile, highly trained, well equipped and well-led firefighters to give additional surge capacity when needed.

MSCs were based at Benalla, Bruthen, Broadford, Heyfield (Connors Plain and later Surveyors Creek) as well as Stawell over summer.

The size of each MSC ranged between fifteen to eighteen people and was self-contained with vehicles, radios, camping and firefighting equipment, including chainsaws, rakehoes and axes. Depending on where it was based the MSC may have included a camp cook.

In 1968, Lex left Kallista District to join the Heyfield MSC based at Connors Plain, northwest of Licola. The crew was supervised by John Wilson, the engineer in charge of local road construction works.

The end of the fire season in 1969 saw Lex head off to Benalla to plant pines over winter in the chilly Strathbogie Ranges. He applied for but missed out on the sought-after FCV foreman’s school, so took some other work such as driving trucks for the next few years.

15 October 1980 remains an important date for Lex because it was when he secured a permanent role back with the Forests Commission at the Sky-High restaurant near Mount Dandenong.

In 1982, Reub Watson retired from Gembrook and Lex happily moved onto the works crew. His mentors Bob Ferres, Bill Rankin and Butch Reid all helping to cement his practical down-to-earth outlook and hone his many bush skills.

The 1982-83 bushfire season is best remembered for those on Ash Wednesday on 16 February 1983, where 47 people died In Victoria and a further 28 in South Australia. But other significant bushfires occurred right across Victoria from August 1982 until April 1983, and it proved a long and hectic fire season for all Forests Commission staff.

Lex drove the Gembrook Bedford M Series tanker (MZF 347), first to South Belgrave then to Upper Beaconsfield and later to Cockatoo on the fateful and manic Ash Wednesday.

While generally considered “bulletproof” the petrol fuel lines on the Bedford were very prone to vaporise in the heat causing the motor to stall, often at the most dangerous moment… in this case frightening the crap out of its driver.

Some jokingly said this design quirk was an inbuilt safety feature to stop crews getting too close to the fire in the first place.

The old Bedford warhorse was subsequently rescued from the scrapheap after its retirement by Lex and fire equipment wizard Rocky Marsden. After a lick of fresh paint and most of its battle scars “buffed out”, this time-honoured veteran now takes pride of place at the Department’s Altona North workshop.

In 1984, Lex moved to Benalla to lead the local Mobile Support Crew, before returning a year later in 1985, like a moth-to-a-flame, to the familiarity of the Dandenong Ranges.

His move back home was around the time of the major restructure and the formation of the Department of Conservation, Forests and Lands (CFL).

Following the Ash Wednesday fires and the formation of CFL there were some significant changes to fire training including a new fireline supervisors’ course in 1985, where Lex took an active role in shaping and delivering the innovative program together with John Nankervis.

Lex made a move from Gembrook to Ferntree Gully in about 1989 and took a role as a Ranger in the newly created Dandenong Ranges National Park.

The other major change that flowed from Ash Wednesday was the introduction by the Forests Commission of new bushfire control arrangements in what later became known as the Australian Interagency Incident Management System (AIIMS).

On the 14 January 1985 there were 111 lightning strikes in 24 hours across Victoria’s alpine region that caused widespread fires, with the largest at Mt Buffalo. Aircraft from the Army, Navy and AirForce were once again deployed, plus a major fleet from the National Safety Council of Australia (NSCA). It proved the largest operation of firefighting aircraft in Australia up to that point.

These fires not only tested both the new Department and the AIIMS system but highlighted some serious shortcomings in aviation management. As a result, Richard Alder, Bryan Rees and others quickly established new aviation roles, training and accreditation to control aircraft at bushfires.

Lex underwent air observer training in 1998, which was followed a year later gaining accreditation as an Air Attack Supervisors (AAS). Lex proved a natural in the air and took many senior leadership roles in bushfire aviation over the subsequent decades.

While not universally welcomed or adopted by other fire agencies, the common structure and language of AIIMS enabled firefighters to be deployed overseas to America and Canada in what has now become a routine exchange. 

Lex and his inseparable friend Ion Worrell (Wol) were like peas in a pod… if you found one… the other wasn’t far away. Unsurprisingly, Lex and Wol were both amongst the first contingent of firefighters to leave Australia in 2000, serving in Idaho and Montana.

In the off season, Lex retained his “day job” at Olinda focusing on fire training, dangerous tree assessment as well as liaison with other emergency services. There probably isn’t a Policeman or CFA Captain in the Dandenongs that hasn’t enjoyed a cup of tea and a bit of banter with Lex as he nurtured these important relationships.

Lex was very deservedly awarded the prestigious Australian Fire Service Medal (AFSM) in 2002. This honour was in addition to his National Medal (1993) and National Emergency Medal (2013) for the bushfires on Black Saturday.

The CFA also recognised Lex with long service medals and life membership.

Widely known across the Dandenong Ranges, and even far beyond, Lex retired from Parks Victoria in 2020 after a lifetime of service.

However, retirement gave Lex more time for his second love of motor sport. As a one-eyed “Holden Man” Lex volunteered with gusto as a rescue firefighter at many premier race events including 25 of Melbourne’s Formula One Grands Prix.

Lex has confronted a couple of major health scares recently including spending nearly three months in Box Hill and Monash Hospitals. He remains astonished and humbled by the depth of support he received from a wide network of generous friends.

As well as being an affable knockabout bloke and firefighting legend, Lex was sometimes likened to a jovial and lovable garden gnome. But everyone who met or worked with Lex has their own engaging anecdote to tell.

It’s simply not possible to sum-up Lex in a mere sentence or two. There are so many worthy qualities including a life committed to protecting forests and communities from bushfire, a dedication to safety, a selfless focus on others, a forthright willingness to speak plainly, lasting friendships, and fierce loyalty. All this topped with a generous layer of infectious humour and effervescent larrikinism.

Lex Wade remains truly one of a kind…