From fighting fires on the ground in Springvale and Dandenong, Commander John Katakouzinos has been at the forefront of firefighting innovation in the air.
Katakouzinos says he feels “very privileged” to be recognised with an Australian Fire Service Medal for a stellar 32-year career.
He’d previously received several fire service awards for his leadership at the Commonwealth Bank fire-bombing in Springvale and a devastating house fire in Dandenong.
“I’m very proud and I feel very privileged to have been nominated and to receive the award, but that’s not what I do any of what I do.
“I do it because I always want to make sure our people are continuously improving, and our people get the best tools they need to perform the job they need for our community.”
He started as a volunteer at Springvale brigade in 1991, progressing as a career firefighter in Dandenong and currently the commander of aviation at CFA headquarters on secondment from FRV.
“I’ve always been interested in aviation, but I wasn’t specifically looking for a role in fire aviation.
“During the 1997 Dandenong Ranges fires I was a volunteer on the ground, and aircraft played a big part, and that set the course for me to get involved in fire aviation.”
He first qualified as an air observer in 1997, before working his way up to air attack supervisor and air operations manager, among other roles.
His passion for training was shown by leading the research, design and delivery of an Australian-first fire-aviation flight simulator.
At Dandenong fire station, he implemented battery-operated road rescue tools, which are still widely used across the state.
“From the start, I’ve always been looking for ways to give our people in the emergency services sector the skills they need, which is what made me start to look at what was being done with aviation internationally.”
“As firefighters, we are generally turning up to the worst day of someone’s life.
“We need to turn up with the best possible skillset that we can achieve, and the only way that we can do that is by continually training to the best possible standard, which ensures that when turn up to someone’s disaster – we do what we can to make it better.
“My passion is about giving our people the best tools possible so that they can give the community what they expect and what the community deserves.”
Katakouzinos is most proud of the many people he’s mentored to become leaders in their own right.
“There’s lots of little things that I’m proud of during my time as a firefighter, but I’m most proud of the people I’ve mentored throughout the journey. It always puts a smile on my face when I get firefighters I’ve trained in the past contact me telling me their achievements and thanking me.”
