KEITH Clough joined the Lake Charm Fire Brigade when he was 18 years old and began fighting fires with just a hand-pumped knapsack.

The 78-year-old was on the frontline in the Macedon Ranges for the devastating 1983 Ash Wednesday bushfires, and in a control room in Kinglake West during Black Saturday.

Mr Clough has responded to countless grassfires, housefires and other local crises and was rece...