Fighting fires and saving lives

Hornsby/Ku-Ring-Gai Rural Fire Service
Dedicated. Cool-headed. Leader

Brave volunteer Grant Wargren has been fighting fires since the 1970s, saving lives, property and wildlife from natural disasters and responding to road, boat and rail accidents.

Grant has put others first for 45 years as a firefighter and is a Group Captain for the Rural Fire Service (RFS) in Hornsby.

In the devastating 2019 bushfires, Grant together with several other members saved a man who had a heart attack when his home was impacted by the fires.

Over the years, Grant has repeatedly put his life at risk to save others and is available day and night to lead his team to accidents on the M1.

“I became involved with the RFS when I lived in Normanhurst and saw first-hand the impact of the Westleigh fires of 1975,” says Grant.

One of his legacies is a safer training system for new volunteers, which has helped save lives.

“My motivation is to be able to help the community and reduce the impact of natural disasters. Living in an area surrounded by bushland, I feel it is my duty to look after our environment and community,” says Grant.

He feels flattered to be nominated as a Westfield Local Hero. “No one joins the RFS to receive praise or recognition, but it feels good to be recognised.”

Westfield Local Heroes are nominated and voted for by their communities, with the three top finalists per Westfield centre each awarded a $10,000 grant for their affiliated organisation. Hornsby RFS will improve its training equipment, meaning volunteers will receive a higher standard of training to safely carry out their work saving lives.

For further information on the Westfield Local Heroes program, click here