OUR VERY OWN “SQUIZZY” TAYLOR By Melissa Walsh Photos: Gary Sissons
F
or six decades Michael “Squizzy” Taylor has been involved with the Mornington Fire Brigade, as a demonstration runner, fire fighter, trainer, representative at the VFBV (Volunteer Fire Brigade Victoria) and the VUFBA (Volunteer Urban Fire Brigade Association) and served as Captain for seven years. He has attended fires like Ash Wednesday, the Dandenongs, and Arthurs Seat on numerous occasions, and dealt with arson, accidents, and rescues big and small. At 79 he still has a twinkle in his eye when he sits down to regale stories of the CFA years that have been such a big part of his life. It didn’t start out this way, however, as young Squizzy often got into mischief as a kid. In fact, his first run in was with the fire brigade after he and a few mates decided to light a fire in a paddock near their house. “I was living in Wilsons Road, Mornington and was about seven. There wasn’t lot to do in those days so me and a few buddies thought we’d see what happened if we a lit a block a couple of doors from our house. We thought it would be fun but didn’t realise it was going to burn the way it did,” he said. “So the next thing along came the fire brigade and the captain who gave me swift kick up the backside and said 'Don’t do it again'.” Squizzy had moved down to Mornington with his family when he was four and has been here ever since, marrying his beloved Yvonne and raising two children, a girl Lizzy and boy Nicholas. “I met Yvonne in Mornington when she was playing netball for St Macartans and I was playing footy for the local footy club. We were all part of a gang and hung out all the time,” said Squizzy, who found himself in strife again 12 years later. “At 19 I had my second mishap with the fire brigade although I never lit another fire. This time some mates and I had made bikes out of old parts we found at the tip on the corner of Craigie Road
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March 2017