Nerimbera firey gives back
Ten years after the rural fire service protected her Nerimbera property, volunteer Kathleen Ellrott is working to control backburning over North Rockhampton’s imperilled suburbs.
Rockhampton
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AFTER the 2009 fires came perilously close to her property at Nerimbera, between Rockhampton and Emu Park, Kathleen Ellrot felt compelled to give back to the volunteers who came to her rescue.
"I joined the Rural Fire Service to pay back the people who helped me," she said.
"The training gives you confidence in times you're needed and also creates a sense of community."
Wednesday afternoon, she was parked on the foothills above Rockonia Rd, keeping an eye out on the backburning efforts around the back of the eastern side of Mt Archer.
It was her second day rostered on; Sunday afternoon, she doorknocked the residences around Dooley and Vesty Streets to keep them apprised of the fire risk.
The theory some of the fires raging across Queensland this week may have been deliberately lit makes Mrs Ellrott's blood boil.
"All these volunteers, trucks, helicopters, planes; it makes me really mad," she said.
As the strike team works up the mountain, and the helicopter pilots circle above, Station Officers Jared Glover and Barry Thompson preside over the staging area further west on Lakes Creek Rd.
"There have been endless people dropping by to say thanks which is fantastic," Mr Glover said.
"The savoury scones we got this morning were delicious."
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