3 minute read
Honours for Lou Spann
Local honoured for service
By Lea Parkes
Three of Queensland Fire and Emergency Services’ finest were announced as award recipients in this year’s Queen’s Birthday Honour List.
One of those recipients was well known Glasshouse Country local Lou Spann, who has served with the Glass House Mountains SES unit since 1990 as well as being a Rural Fire Service volunteer since 1994 and the first officer with Beerwah Rural Fire Service.
Lou has been a stalwart of the local community, both as a primary school teacher for 21 years at Glass House Mountains and three years at Landsborough state schools and as an influential member of his local Queensland SES and Rural Fire Service Queensland units for almost three decades.
Fire and Emergency Services Minister Craig Crawford said the award recognised the recipients’ outstanding commitment and service to the state.
“Queensland is fortunate to have thousands of highly skilled and hardworking fire and emergency services personnel who assist the community when times get tough,” Mr Crawford said.
Lou has been acknowledged for continuously going above and beyond what is expected of a Queensland SES volunteer through his contribution to critical leadership and exceptional local knowledge in times of need.
He has been recognised for his passion, enthusiasm and experience in extreme and challenging mountain rescues, and he is held in high regard as an instructor by his peers.
Lou has continued to pursue operational excellence through professional development and, in turn, drives enhanced capability and resilience for the community of the Glass House Mountains.
It takes a special type of person to work in fire and emergency services and although many don’t ask for thanks, they are very deserving of recognition.
When I asked Lou how he feels about receiving the award, like most who are driven to serve their local community he talked about what a privilege it had been for him to work beside other dedicated members of the crews he was worked with in his nearly 30 years of emergency services volunteering.
The work the crews do is achieved by individuals working together, particularly for those involved in vertical rescues. With the SES you have to have absolute trust in each other as you are putting your life in their hands.
He did, however, acknowledge that both his children were proud that he has received the recognition and explained that to be able to volunteer for not just the emergency situations that arose, but all the training and preparation required, meant that not just the volunteers but their families had to make significant sacrifices.
Lou and his family moved to Glass House in June of 1990 from Imbil and by the October of that year he had become part of the SES and during that time has participated in more than 100 rescues.
Apparently it was the sound of a helicopter hovering around Mt Tibrogargan that started Lou’s involvement with vertical rescue.
When the family moved to a property just below the mountain he saw some fellas in orange making their way down the front face obviously doing a rescue from the top of the mountain and he thought he could do that.
Within four years of joining the SES he had taken on the role as training officer. He thinks that the other blokes figured that as a teacher he would be good in that job.
Lou explained that the training is quite different to a classroom learning environment as it is very much about developing practical skills and involved a strong leadership role as well.
He said that while he has shared plenty of laughter and good times during his involvement with both the SES and the Rural Fire Service, when work has to be done the focus is all about safety.
