Filipino volunteer who saved Outback fire brigade celebrated in Australian Parliament

MELBOURNE, Australia — A Filipino immigrant who helped a small Outback town keep its volunteer fire brigade was celebrated in the Australian Parliament on Thursday during a special sitting to welcome Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who is on a state visit. With the addition of Bucol’s family, friends and the wider Filipino community the Port Wakefield brigade is now almost staffed to capacity, said local brigade captain Warren Miller. “I thought, ‘How can I join them?’ but I was too shy to ask at the time,” Bucol told a Country Fire Service publication recently. Bucol said: “That’s made me proud of myself, that as a Filipino we are all well known, that we are not bad people and we are doing well in the community.” Port Wakefield has a relatively large Filipino population for South Australia, with 11.6% of the town having Philippines ancestry in 2021.