VIC: 900 attend funeral for fifth bushfire victim

AAP General News (Australia)
12-15-1998
VIC: 900 attend funeral for fifth bushfire victim

MELBOURNE, Dec 15 AAP - About 900 mourners today honoured firefighter Jason Thomas in the
final of five emotion-charged funerals for victims of the Linton bushfire tragedy in central
Victoria earlier this month.

Family, friends and hundreds of Country Fire Authority (CFA) firefighters packed St Mary of
the Angels church in Geelong to farewell Mr Thomas, 25, who had been a volunteer in the CFA
for just over 12 months when he was killed.

Mr Thomas and four other firefighters died on December 2, when their fire truck, which had
run out of water, was trapped in bush south-west of Ballarat after a change in wind direction
blew a wall of fire back towards them.

It was the worst loss of life for Victorian firefighters since the Ash Wednesday fires of
February, 1983.

CFA spokesman Peter Philp (Philp) said mourners remembered Mr Thomas as a happy and
humorous man.

A Charlie Chaplin song Smile was played as a tribute to Mr Thomas with eulogies from his
three siblings and partner.

"He was obviously a fun-loving person - a guy who really enjoyed life but also was
committed to helping people, and that was reflected in his joining the CFA," Mr Philp said.

He said hundreds of firefighters, including colleagues from the Geelong West station, laid
small, evergreen wreaths taken from cypress trees on the coffin.

The four other funerals have been held in Geelong over the past four days.

Mr Philp said the firefighting community and relatives were still grieving but that the
funerals had all been life-affirming.

"People here are still in mourning, they are still grieving," he said.

"But the funerals have all been bright and not dirges."

The CFA would hold a memorial service for all five of those killed at Deakin University in
Geelong on Saturday morning.

AAP gf/er/cfm/de

KEYWORD: BUSHFIRE FUNERALS (CARRIED EARLIER)

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