 |
| |Home|Who
are we?|What we do| |
        |
What
We Do |
 |
Of
course, we fight fires. In our extreme climatic regime here in Australia, bushfires
can erupt with sudden ferocity and the linked local forces of volunteers were
formed to cope with these occurences. Fighting bushfires and grass fires is
not all we do, however. We may be called to fight structural fires, and we have
had serious incidents of this nature. |
|
|
|
The
troops mopping up after a bushfire near Crookwell, New South Wales. |
|
| The
proximity to a major highway has meant an increasing number of calls to motor
vehicle accidents. The fact that we are just outside Canberra's suburban fringe
has meant that we are subject to one urban nuisance, stolen cars dumped and
torched by the roadside. Soldiering out to confront the forces of nature is
one thing, but cleaning up after idiots is quite another. |
|
 |
|
Another
night's work for the brigade on Gundaroo Road. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| We
deal with various miscellaneous emergencies. Violent storms can lead to the
troops being called out to cut up trees that have fallen across the road, or
to secure roofs, or to pump out flooded homes. Volunteers have travelled to
emergencies way outside our area. Some of our people went to the big Coonabarabran
fire, others to tarpaulin roofs after the recent major storms in Sydney. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
Burning
off weeds or areas of high fuel load keeps the volunteers busy outside the fire
season. It also serves to give experience and training to new recruits to the
volunteer service. |
|
|
|
|
A
controlled burn of long grass near the Pony Club ground at the edge of the
village. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Competitive
field days between brigades and regions bring an aspect of sport to fire brigading,
but these are also important occasions. Skills for special emergencies are tested
and improved. Safe practices are reinforced. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Murray
performs a swashbuckling hose rollout at a field day in Cooma. Pity some muffin
of a judge's assistant then forgot to turn the water on! |
 |
Community
education is also on our agenda. Visits to local schools, poster displays
and pamphlets all contribute. Members of the community who don't wish to
be volunteer firefighters can do a community education
course in order to increase their knowledge of fire
safety. |
|
|
|
|
We
don't know for sure whether they listen to the lectures, but they all want
to ride on the fire truck. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
We
also participate socially in community life. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Santa
gives the reindeer a day off for a community Christmas picnic. |
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
We
have social occasions to raise funds for the brigade, and sometimes we just
play together. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Stan
ponders his chances at a Sutton Rural Fire Brigade golf day hosted by a local
resort. |
| To
see what we have been doing, apart from being Santa and playing golf, take a
look at our incident log. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
| Return
to home page |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
