How the hotshot ex-soldiers Gareth Desmond and Luke Adamson became the CFS’s secret weapon in the Cudlee Creek fire
They don’t carry water. Chainsaws and ropes are their weapons of choice. Meet the two ex-soldiers who rocked up to help the CFS fight the monster Hills bushfire.
SA News
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They have been dubbed hotshots – the chainsaw-wielding, axe-carrying, rope-slinging former soldiers who have become a fearless ally in the Adelaide Hills firefight.
Gareth Desmond and Luke Adamson, who have risked their lives in combat in Afghanistan and Iraq, have again put their lives on the line providing invaluable support to CFS crews in fighting an unpredictable and deadly enemy.
Disregarding their own safety but equipped with years of military training, the duo plunged headlong into the fires with strike teams to cut down burning trees, create firebreaks, and clear the way for trucks and emergency vehicles.
When needed they have stood shoulder-to-shoulder with fire crews and doused flames.
Initially nobody asked for their help; Desmond, 32, who runs his own tree lopping company that specialises in high-risk tree clearance, rolled up to the Cudlee Creek bushfire zone on the first day of catastrophic fire conditions to lend a hand.
Nine chainsaws and thousands of litres of fuel later, Desmond, of Huntfield Heights, Adamson, 33, of Mt Barker, together with a back-up crew, have been an integral part of the effort to protect homes.
“I just want to fight fires and help people,” Desmond, who served in the 1st Battalion the Royal Australian Regiment, said.
“When it (the fire) first started no one really realised who we were or what we were capable of, but within the first couple of days with the CFS we started going to morning briefings, gaining intelligence of what was happening.
“We were pushed on to the frontline, into the most dangerous areas … being ex-military we are all qualified in advanced response, emergency triage, rope rescue, all the training to get the guys out of sticky situations.”
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Desmond set up his arboriculture company Tree Crew a year ago with an express purpose to employ veterans.
He has now sacrificed an income to devote his skills to the emergency response, chewing through $50,000 of equipment.
“Sometimes you just need to roll your sleeves up and get stuff done, regardless of the sacrifices you make to achieve it,” he said.
“It’s been a privilege and honour to be able to help the emergency services. The people up here volunteering, every afternoon they are coming in beaten, tattered, but they’ve still got a smile on their faces – they deserve the utmost respect.”
The pair were in the heat of battle on December 23 protecting a water pipeline at Mt Torrens from fire.
“The fire was raging, we had bombers dropping chemical water on top of us to stop it,” he said.
“Me and Luke decided to stay on our own, the (CFS) truck pulled back because it was out of water.
“We were in the fire bringing trees down that were on fire and spotting embers until another truck came back … we were there for half-an-hour, chainsaws were catching on fire.
“We’ve developed a real rapport with the CFS guys, they think we’re insane, one guy said we’re called the hotshots.”
Hotshots are elite US firefighters who work in crew of about 20 without logistic support and often isolated in the most dangerous fire zones.
They don’t carry water – rather they use spades and chainsaws, dig lines and cut trees to contain outbreaks.
Desmond and Adamson, who served as a combat engineer detonating IEDs in Afghanistan, will push for a similar crew to be established in SA using unemployed veterans to bring “military strategy to the firefight”.
“I want to see if I can get government funding to establish a platoon of men that I can get qualified as arborists, in technical rope climbing and firefighting that deal specifically for situations like this,” Desmond said, of the difficult terrain facing crews in the Cudlee Creek blaze.
“You’ve got so many unemployed veterans with so many skills.”
Desmond and Adamson were medically separated from the army in 2014 and have struggled to find full-time work.
Adamson runs Heroes for the Homefront, a charity that connects veterans to programs and support networks.
“When it comes to stuff like this, it puts me back in my natural habitat,” he said, of his firefighting experience.
“Being out on here, it’s very relatable to the service, it fits in perfectly with the charity … it’s very similar to the camaraderie and rush you get in the military.”