IT WAS a stormy night in early 1982 that Neil Hunt first struck on the idea for a Brimbank emergency service.

The Keilor East resident was working as a supervisor at the then Keilor Council when he was called out to help residents affected by a severe windstorm in Tullamarine.

When he arrived on the scene, Mr Hunt was shocked by the devastation that greeted him.

Around 14 homes had been ravaged by the storm that ripped through the municipality.

It was an eye opener for the council worker, who had never dealt with an emergency of this magnitude.

“I usually got called out to unblock drains and things like that,” Mr Hunt said.

“I thought to myself, this is beyond me.”

Mr Hunt contacted the SES, who sent a team of volunteers to assist him.

At the time, Brimbank had no SES, so volunteers had to be sent from other units across Melbourne.

The situation was hardly ideal.

“It got me thinking,” Mr Hunt said.

“I suggested that we should have our own SES unit to cope with emergency situations in our own area.”

Mr Hunt was one of the founding members of the local SES, which was established that year.

He has remained an active volunteer for the past 27 years.

During that time, Mr Hunt has witnessed countless tragedies.

He was part of a team that removed six bodies from the wreckage of the Gladstone Park air ambulance crash more than 15 years ago.

The founding father of Brimbank’s SES hung up his boots last week, after more than 27 years of serving the community.

“It’s going to be difficult not being in the SES,” Mr Hunt said.