Councils, fire and emergency service personnel, and religious leaders gathered for the 26th annual blessing of the fleet on October 8.
Representatives from many diverse faiths delivered a blessing ahead of this year’s summer season outside of City of Whittlesea Civic Centre in South Morang.
Both service and career emergency personnel were present including Country Fire Authority; Fire Rescue Victoria; Forest Fire Management Victoria Management Victoria; Victoria Police; State Emergency Services and Ambulance Victoria and Parks Victoria.
Operational staff from Whittlesea, Mitchell and Murrindindi councils were represented on the day, together with religious leaders from the Buddhist, Sikh, Islamic, Greek Orthodox and Christian communities.
City of Whittlesea chief executive officer Craig Lloyd said the event was to thank emergency services for their hard work to the community.
“The blessing of the fleet service is dedicated to the remarkable individuals and teams in our emergency services and signals the start of the preparation for the upcoming fire season,” he said.
“It is wonderful to get together with the leaders of our multi-faith congregations to pray for the protection and safe passing of emergency services crews and volunteers, and the vehicles and equipment that enable them to carry out their life and property saving work.”