Exhausted RFS crew forego family to fight fires on Christmas
While Australians gathered to enjoy their Christmas Day lunch or dinner, at least 1700 fireys worked to fight the bushfires still raging across the state, building containment lines around huge fires before hot and dangerous conditions return on the weekend.
NSW
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An army of volunteer firefighters left their family Christmas tables to take up the battle against mega blazes which have consumed almost 900 homes.
While the exhausted men and women headed back to the frontline, those who had lost everything in recent weeks were sustained by the charity and help of others.
From Scott Morrison down, the 1700 firefighters who put their Christmases on hold were praised for their selfless dedication to building containment lines around huge fires before hot and dangerous conditions return on the weekend.
There was also recognition in the Prime Minister’s Christmas message for the hundreds of families who are battling to rebuild.
Brothers Braiden, 8, and Logan Fullick, 7, fled for their lives during bushfires at South Arm on the NSW mid north coast last month.
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Their home was lost but their Christmas saved by a kind stranger who handed their mother Janet Fullick an envelope stuffed with cash which she has used for essentials and for one present — a trampoline for the boys.
Ms Fullick, 29, wiped away tears as she watched her kids play on it and at the welcome reprieve for them from the stress of reliving their terrifying escape and of living in a donated caravan.
“We have no room for a Christmas tree, we have nowhere to put presents,” she said.
It was an easy decision for fourth generation Rural Fire Service (RFS) member Terry Stait and crewmate Shaun Jones to put their hand up for a Christmas Day shift.
They want to spare another family like the Fullicks from having to rebuild their lives.
The pair put their hands up to fight fires in Macksville, on the state’s lower north coast. Their battle was made easier with up to 50mm of rain falling along the north coast but the RFS warned the downpour was not enough to end the bushfire crisis.
“We put ourselves as available every day we can,” Mr Jones said.
Mr Stait had planned to visit family in his home town of Mudgee but delayed his holiday to “dedicate the time to fighting fires”.
“Someone has to be on,” Mr Stait said.
“I’m exhausted but once that pager goes off the adrenaline kicks in and you don’t think about it.”
A number of regional and rural communities put on Christmas parties and carnivals to thank their RFS brigades. But for many, they were too busy to crack a beer over lunch.
The Lower North Coast RFS crew say it’s the worst fire season they’ve seen.
“We’re like family here, so because I’m not going home I’ll spend it with this family around here,” Mr Stait said.
As he speaks his brigade captain, Paulla Brownhill, makes the sign of the cross to bless their tanker truck.
“I think the blessing of the fleet is the only thing keeping it going,” she said, pointing out a melted side panel and roof dents made by falling trees.
Two fresh recruits, Lucy Howard, 19, and Jeremy Boniface, 20, signed up to the RFS three months ago, inspired by the acts of heroism they had witnessed.
“I really want to get out there,” Ms Howard said.
“We can’t just all sit at home watching Netflix while everything is going crazy.”
Some firefighters spent Christmas far from home, including a group of Canadian volunteers who arrived in Australia at the beginning of the month to help out, mainly in planning, aviation and operations.
Premier of the Canadian province of Manitoba Brian Pallister said: “We are pleased to help the people of Australia as they face these devastating fires, especially since Manitoba has been on the receiving end of help from friends and neighbours when wildfires and other natural disasters hit our province.”
The Prime Minister gave his thanks to “all of those who serve our nation”, including volunteer firefighters, in his Christmas message.
He also paid tribute to the two RFS firefighters who died last Thursday while on duty at the Green Wattle Creek fire.
“We think especially of the families of Andrew O’Dwyer and Geoff Keaton who we lost in the fires recently here in NSW,” he said.
“They are a reminder of why this country is amazing.”
Standing in front of a fire truck, Labor leader, Anthony Albanese, also paid tribute to volunteer firefighters.
“We think particularly of those people in the community who have been fighting bushfires,” Mr Albanese said. “We think of those empty seats at tables where people have lost loved ones.
“This is the greatest country on Earth. And the thing that makes it the greatest country on Earth is our people. Our people are resilient. Our people are courageous.”
The crisis is expected to stretch on for weeks, with long-term weather forecasts not predicting significant rainfalls until January or February. The RFS said heavy rainfall is needed to extinguish massive fires such as the Gospers Mountain blaze.