Rural firey volunteer travels 400km to help Townsville as part of Strike Team effort

Peter Larsen lived in Townsville decades ago, and now the Rural Fire Service volunteer is back as part of the mammoth post-flood recovery effort.

PETER Larsen lived in Townsville decades ago, and now the Rural Fire Service volunteer is back as part of the mammoth post-flood recovery effort.

More than 200 personnel from as far north as Port Douglas and south to Brisbane have travelled into the flood ravaged city as part of the ‘Strike Team’ washout effort.

The 73-year-old retiree is from Millstream, south of Cairns and has been with the RFS for eight years.

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“I’m a retired person, and I wanted to do things for the community,” he said.

“I’ve got a lot of friends in Townsville and my daughter lives here, so it’s a good excuse.

“That’s what we’re here for, to get dirty, pad around the mud and clear it all out.”

Mr Larsen said this was the worst flooding he had seen.

“I used to swim in Bluewater, years ago, and the kids used to swim there, and now it’s wiped out,” he said.

“But it won’t take much to get it all back up again.”

Originally published as Rural firey volunteer travels 400km to help Townsville as part of Strike Team effort