Warringah HQ Rural Fire Brigade viral video reveals how they survived firestorm
A viral video which has been watched by 700,000 people tracks the route a fire crew took through a firestorm to save a man. Now read the dramatic story of how they got back out after they found themselves trapped.
Manly
Don't miss out on the headlines from Manly. Followed categories will be added to My News.
As firefighters drove through a smoke-filled tunnel of burning trees – with some flames reaching as high as 30 metres – their focus was not on their own safety but that of a man scared and trapped in the middle of this hellish firestorm in Rainbow Flat.
A terrifying one minute and 22 second video of their drive into the heart of the fire has gone viral and has been viewed more than 700,000 times.
It reveals the horrific conditions the volunteers faced last Friday on the mid north coast after a sudden change of wind direction sent an out of control bushfire racing through the small community.
It burned houses to the ground and even destroyed the local Rural Fire Service station.
For captain Luke Robinson, 28, leading a four-man crew from Warringah HQ Fire Brigade on Sydney’s northern beaches, it was their first job of the shift.
They had only left Sydney at 2.30pm that day. By 6pm they were heading into a high risk situation to save a man’s life and, as it turned out, that of his dog and two cats. Amazingly they even managed to save his property.
“You could absolutely feel the heat from the fires inside the truck,” Capt Robinson, who was previously in the navy, said.
“You could also hear the crackling of burning trees and the roar of the front of the fire as it passed through on our right.
“I’ve never come across such an intense scene before in my 10 years with the fire service.
“I knew this was a high risk job, but it was for a high reward, to help this man who I had just been talking to on the phone, who had told me his home was surrounded by fire.”
In the video there is an eerie silence inside the truck apart from the crackling radio and some quiet instructions from Capt Robinson.
“On that journey I was very much focused on directing the driver, making sure he knew where he was going because the visibility was so poor,” he said.
“In the back of my mind I was worried about trees falling on us, something you can’t control and is totally unpredictable, but very dangerous.”
Trees did fall behind them and on the way back they had to chainsaw their way out, experiencing temperatures that Capt Robinson guessed “must have been pushing 100 degrees celcius” as they moved smouldering and burning logs from their path.
The crew included senior deputy captain and driver Simon Adams, deputy captain Christian McGowan and firefighter Barry Lanigan.
On that job with them was another northern beaches crew from Davidson and a strike team leader in a ute.
Capt Robinson said the video showed the fierce conditions many firefighters and other services have faced since the bushfires started in September.
He said he understood why many people would not want to do their voluntary job, but he said it gave him a sense of accomplishment to be able to help people in their time of need.
“To do this you need to be mentally strong, but you also need to be willing to put yourself in harm’s way for the benefit of other people,” Capt Robinson, who also responded to the South Turramurra fire on Tuesday, said.
“I do it for my community, for NSW and for Australia.”
DASHCAM VISION FROM THE DAVIDSON CREW WERE ON THE SAME JOB.
