Volunteer Fire Fighters, Thank You!

[jonesfam]

To all the Volunteer Fire Fighters I would like to give a very big thank-you.


Some may have heard on the news that areas around Ravenshoe had a torrid time on Friday & Saturday with bush fires.
Thankfully our place did not come under direct threat this time but driving back to work on Monday I could see just how close some of the houses went to going up.


Twice the Volunteer fire fighters have saved our house & last week-end they saved a few more. I have the utmost respect for these people, very ordinary people, who give up there time, go into danger & ask nothing in return just because it needs to be done.


I would also like to thank & tell how brave the water bomber pilots & observers are. Saturday was hot, very windy & smoke everywhere. A helicopter & a crop duster flew into that smoke & wind at low level all afternoon, how they could see, how they did not fly into a hill, tree or power pole amazed me. On top of that the helicopter was flying with a huge bucket swinging around under it & dropping down into a valley to re-fill it while it was blowing a gale, they both kept going to it was almost completely dark. very good pilots & very brave.


Thanks
Jonesfam

[RisingSun]

A number of guys I work with were out there, including one of the pilots.

Been doing a lot of reduction burns all over the shire over the last few months, got a few more this week, don't like seeing them out of control like that.

[Bytemrk]

Good to hear you stayed out of trouble .

You are right, right across the country there are thousands of very brave volunteers that don't always get the recognition deserved.

[Ean Austral]

To all the Volunteer Fire Fighters I would like to give a very big thank-you.


Some may have heard on the news that areas around Ravenshoe had a torrid time on Friday & Saturday with bush fires.
Thankfully our place did not come under direct threat this time but driving back to work on Monday I could see just how close some of the houses went to going up.


Twice the Volunteer fire fighters have saved our house & last week-end they saved a few more. I have the utmost respect for these people, very ordinary people, who give up there time, go into danger & ask nothing in return just because it needs to be done.


I would also like to thank & tell how brave the water bomber pilots & observers are. Saturday was hot, very windy & smoke everywhere. A helicopter & a crop duster flew into that smoke & wind at low level all afternoon, how they could see, how they did not fly into a hill, tree or power pole amazed me. On top of that the helicopter was flying with a huge bucket swinging around under it & dropping down into a valley to re-fill it while it was blowing a gale, they both kept going to it was almost completely dark. very good pilots & very brave.


Thanks
Jonesfam




Well said, they deserve far more recognition than they get.


Cheers Ean

[Sitec]

I've been out twice today on the truck, the second one came very close to engulfing a house.... I love volunteering and look at it with the view it works both ways. Yes, I loose money when I leave work, but... I'm now part of a 35 strong brigade with the CFS, and have been for 6+ years. I've learned a fantastic selection of skills... BA, Road Crash Rescue, Wild Fire, Chain Saw Opps, and Response Driving but to name a few! The most important thing I have gained is an awesome group of like minded mates who have welcomed me into the community, and have made me feel more at home than I ever did when I lived in the UK. So for that, I'm happy to be a part of the volunteer community, and I thank all those who have welcomed me into it, and I will continue to respond and do what I can when it is asked of me! :)

[digger]

We had a call to a nearby spot this evening, fire near the road and moving into scrub etc... very hard/impossible area to stop. Will possibly even be an all nighter for some crews, (luckily I was released and came back early!)

You are right SITEC its great comraderie and you mix with a great mob of people you'd likely hardly know or circulate with elsewise. Its a good way to be involved and make a difference, and everyone can find a link in the chain to work in. Firefighter, officer, investigator, rescue, comms, logistics, driver, and the list continues.


an example,
A local piggery had a wind gust destroy the roof of one of the sheds, the pigs cannot cope with the heat so we went out and helped clear the wreckage and recover frames etc wth tarps to cover the pigs. Owner was very greatful! We felt good.

We had a very bad cyclonic type storm go through a number of years ago, rooves off, trees down and heaps of damage. We were going full tilt for 24 hrs and then SES and other CFS units took over. About 4 hours into the event, the bloke who owns the piggery showed up and backed his ute and trailer up to one of our truck bays (obviously with all crews out they were all empty).

He unloaded an old big full plate BBQ, some trestle tables, then got out meat, loaves of bread, eggs and of course bacon.

When asked he said it was something he felt he could do to pay back the help he'd been given. He and his mates cooked for 15 crews for over 24 hours and refused to stop or take anything in payment. We ended up buying more supplies for him and we all put in and bought him a bbq afterwards, but it paled into insignificance to what that bacon and egg sanger or snag or steakie did for you to keep you going.

He reckons we are all legends and says he still owes us!! and we reckon he is a legend and we cant repay what he did...

It is an example of how we felt good for helping him originally but how his guesture of help made a huge difference to us and made us feel 10' tall.

(PS: I still reckon the bloke is a legend!)

Its a feeling of making a difference, sometimes very small, sometimes large, but of achieving something.

(on the other side recently we were called to a house paddock where the poor old resident had bogged his gopher coming back from checking the horses!! ..its a mixed bag! )

[Bytemrk]

Hope those at Warrimoo and Blaxland stay safe.....