Bushfires NT Christine Platell recognised for her 37 years of dedication for volunteer week

Christine Platell has dedicated half of her life to fighting fires in the Northern Territory, and she hopes her story can inspire others to try their hand at volunteering too. Find out how you can get involved.

Christine Platell knew from the start that more needed to be done. Picture: Thomas McLean

Christine Platell knew from the start that more needed to be done.

It was the early 1990s, just a handful of years after she began volunteering for Bushfires Northern Territory in 1988, when she came to the realisation.

“I thought, ‘What are we doing?’,” she said.

“We needed a better vehicle, we needed PPE (Personal Protective Equipment), we needed more planned burning happening instead of just dealing with wildfires.”

Ms Platell knew that more could be done to stop wildfires in the NT. Picture: Thomas McLean

Her determination didn’t go unnoticed either, with the passionate volunteer quickly becoming captain at the Manton Volunteer Bush Brigade in 1994.

Then in 2006, she secured an apprenticeship as a fire control officer with Bushfires NT, where she has stayed for the past 19 years.

Altogether, Ms Platell, an adrenaline junkie at heart who has no intentions of leaving her post at Bushfires NT any time soon, has dedicated 37 years to fighting fires.

“I like the work,” she said.

“I like doing something different.”

Ms Platell has loved all 37 years of her firefighting career. Picture: Thomas McLean

With so many years under her belt, it was difficult, Ms Platell said, to pinpoint her favourite memory on the job.

“There are just so many,” she said.

But in the end she settled for one from 2018 that came during a deployment to Dargo, Victoria, where she took on the role of air attack supervisor.

“I didn’t even know I was going up for the day,” said Ms Platell, who was the first woman to serve in that position.

“So it was a shock, and I got plenty of slaps on the wrist for pushing the wrong buttons on the radio because their radio system was totally different.”

Ms Platell and young Bushfires NT volunteer Tom. Picture: Thomas McLean

Current and former volunteers such as Ms Platell are being recognised as part of National Volunteers Week, which marks Australia’s largest volunteering celebration.

“It’s pretty special,” Ms Platell said.

“I love the volunteers … they do such a great job, and Australia could not exist without volunteers; we would just fall in a hole.”

The theme of this year’s volunteers week is “Connecting Communities”.

Ms Platell said it was important to inspire the next generation of volunteers. Picture: Thomas McLean

But equally as important to Ms Platell was inspiring the next generation of volunteers.

“Come and see what it’s like … it’s not as scary as it looks,” she said.

“You might find that you have the demeanour to run fire lines and be valuable to your brigade.

“It’s not all about just running the fire, we need people out there doing the hard yards the next day too.

“Anyone can light a fire, but controlling it and keeping it where it is … that’s the hard part.”

She said she hoped more opportunities — whether it be through education programs in classrooms, on the job training or cadetships — would open for future firefighters.

Find out more about volunteering with NTFRS on the Police, Fire and Emergency Services website or email [e-mail].