A few members of the Bendigo CFA crew took a tanker for a spin on Saturday morning, but paid the five-year-old a special visit on their way.

Mum Jacqueline Clarke said her son had been "obsessed" with everything firefighting for as long as she could remember.

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"He's on the spectrum, but firetrucks and the idea of him fighting fires has always made him smile," she said.

"I knew I wanted to do something special for him, so I called the CFA and asked if he might be able to come into the station and have a look around."

Due to COVID-19, the family wasn't able to make the trip into town, but Bendigo CFA captain Ian Ellis had another idea.

"When Jackson's mum called, we knew we really wanted to help out," he said.

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"The pandemic has meant we've had to stop all training and recruiting for the past two years so whenever we get a chance to take the truck out, we take it.

"I called Jacqueline back and said we would come out on Saturday morning, lights and sirens on and surprise him for his birthday."

Ms Clarke said as soon as Jackson saw the truck, he was mesmorised.

"He was just so excited," she said.

"Jackson saw the truck go past and he said 'mum I want to go out and help'."

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Mr Ellis said it was heartwarming to see Jackson enjoy the morning.

"He absolutely loved it, we couldn't be happier," he said.

"We showed him how to use the hose, how the sirens work and all of our equipment and he loved every minute of it.

"It was really special to see."

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