New St John Ambulance CEO wants every home, office and car in Canberra equipped with a first-aid kit

It was the early 1980s, and Martin Fisk was at a music concert at the Hordern Pavilion in Sydney when he, “like so many 18-year-olds, drank too much and ended up passing out”.

The next thing he knew, he was looking into the faces of two volunteers from St John Ambulance.

“I’ve never forgotten their kindness, compassion and professionalism in making sure I was safe and looking after me,” he says.

Nearly 40 years later, Martin is now setting up his desk at the St John Ambulance ACT office in Deakin as the organisation’s new CEO.

He comes with plans to help more Canberrans who find themselves in emergency situations by having “every household, workplace and vehicle in Canberra equipped with a first-aid kit” and volunteers patrolling more of the city’s streets.

Founded 140 years ago and with branches in all states and territories, St John Ambulance is Australia’s leading supplier of first-aid products, services and training.

Each year, it delivers 1.2 million hours of voluntary community services, trains 500,000 people in first aid, and treats 100,000 people at public events across Australia.

Here in the ACT, the local arm runs ‘CBR Nightcrew’ every Friday and Saturday night (and Thursday during daylight saving).

According to the website, a tent is set up behind Platform 5 of the Civic bus interchange, “with chairs for people to rest, water for hydration, advice and assistance for safe transport options, basic first aid and mobile phone charging”.

Roving teams of volunteers also patrol the city, marked by big backpacks with the ‘CBR Nightcrew’ logo.

After four years in the role of ACT CEO, Adrian Watts exited on 12 July 2024 to become national CEO.

Martin was then approached by one of the directors at St John Ambulance ACT, and asked if he “knew anyone” who could take over.

“But the more I researched the organisation, the more I went, yep, this is for me,” he says.

“It’s an incredible organisation, and hopefully, I can do a bit to make sure we increase our impact in the community.”

Martin grew up in Manly in Sydney. His first job was in retail, where he was in charge of the men’s business shirt section at Grace Brothers off Pitt Street. He moved to Canberra in August 2003 and, since then, has built a career that spans the private, public and community sectors.

He was CEO of Menslink between 2011 and 2022, Senior Director of Public Advocacy at the ACT Human Rights Commission in 2023, and most recently, CEO of Project Independence, which provides homes for people with intellectual disabilities.

Top of his to-do list now is increasing the number of first-aid kits and defibrillators in the community and, “importantly, ensuring people are trained to use them”.

“I’ve been in four first-aid situations where I’ve been the first or second person on the scene – two motor vehicle accidents and two medical episodes – and to have that bag in your car and that training and confidence to do the right thing, it can save a life.”

He says practical details on how to achieve this will come as he learns more about the job, but cites Val Dempsey, a long-standing volunteer of St John Ambulance ACT and Australian Senior of the Year 2022, as an example.

Val championed a change to the ACT’s Learner driver requirements, where completing a first-aid course would reduce the 100 required driving hours by five.

“We hope to build on Val’s terrific work to get as many people in Canberra trained in first-aid,” Martin says.

He wants to see defibrillators installed in community shops and neighbourhood centres across the ACT, and clearly signposted, rather than tucked away inside buildings and workplaces.

He says they’ll also look at rolling the CBR Nightcrew out into new areas – Dickson and inner Belconnen are possibilities.

“At the moment, I just want to get to meet more volunteers, and I am learning, learning, learning as much as I can.”