Geoff Ward (left)
Warracknabeal Fire Brigade volunteers were among many on the Western Victoria fireground over recent weeks, with some younger members experiencing their first strike team deployment.
With up to six strike teams sent across the Little Desert National Park and the Grampians (Gariwerd) National Park fires throughout December to February, Captain Cam Whelan said helping hands extended beyond them too.
"I want to acknowledge the efforts of those in the background organising crews, the partners and children waiting bravely at home, the ones who stayed behind for coverage and the people that walked away from their businesses to get on the truck," Cam said.
The brigade's presence was also felt significantly at the Horsham Incident Control Centre (ICC) and at local callouts, where members were exposed to a new world of logistics, from delivering vehicles and food, to gathering resources and distributing them to different staging areas.
On the edge of the fire, Cam said although there was a lot of land to track out in the landscape, they were prepared and ready for when it came out of the scrub.
"Due to the sheer scale of the fire, most of our tasks included working along the containment lines to extinguish it when it arrived, and asset protection and observation," Cam said.
"One of the best things to come out of this fire situation was the community focused approach and the knowledge that was coming through to manage the fires from brigade members and local landholders."
Brigade member and disability support worker Geoff Ward was quick to jump on strike teams to the Grampians fire prior to Christmas, before Little Desert and Glenisla in the new year.
"At Little Desert our role was to stop the spread of fire as soon as it spotted out of the park into private land. We were sent to do asset protection at the duck farm and we put out lots of spot fires in the stubble from the ember attacks," Geoff said.
With a strong Championship running team and with Cam being a school teacher, Warracknabeal have had an influx of younger members who have stood up to be firefighters.
"I was so proud of how well our new senior firefighters responded, they're only just over 18 and have now gone out on multiple strike teams. They've really helped the backlog of older members who still have to run a business or go to work," Cam said.
Geoff said Cam has been the main driver for the program and that it has already been a huge asset to the brigade, with many members coming through junior ranks.
"We had lots of younger members out on the trucks, and the experience for them out there would have been invaluable. It's pretty overwhelming the first time you see a big firestorm," Geoff said.
"There's quite a bit of training to do for people, and often, people have got kids, or they're married, and they don't see that they have time, but these young ones seem to be ready to undertake it, and they'll absorb everything they're told. It's great."
