Volunteers' unwavering commitment
Published Date: 14 Jan 2013
Summary
Cootamundra Herald
SENIOR Rural Fire Service officials have paid tribute to their dedicated band of volunteers in the wake of last week's fires.
Around 200 South West Zone Rural Service Zone volunteers from Cootamundra, Harden, Young and Boorowa braved the hazardous conditions last week to save life and property.
The Jugiong fire, which spread quickly to Yass burnt out some 12,500 hectares, with around 10,000 sheep and cattle being lost.
South West Slopes RFS district manager Inspector Andrew Dillon told the Cootamundra Herald that volunteers from all four shires had provided a strong presence over those crucial three days last week.
The fire started around 4pm on Tuesday near the Bald Hill Quarry on Benangaroo Road and quickly raced into the hills, heading towards Burrinjuck and Yass before it was controlled and stopped some 10 kilometres from Yass.
The fire's perimetre stretched for some 94 kilometres.
In terms of last week's fire Inspector Dillon praised the volunteer firefighters, paying tribute to the dedicated volunteers and their "unwavering commitment to see the job through".
He said that the fact that not one house was lost in a fire that spanned around 12,500 hectares was an outstanding effort.
"It was fantastic how when called on, our volunteers jumped straight into property protection mode," Inspector Dillon commented.
"It's a fantastic achievement and shows how well our members are trained, how good our equipment is and just how smart our volunteers are," Inspector Dillon said.
He stressed that with a fire the priority is first to save life then property – and that's exactly what RFS volunteers did last week.
Unfortunately stock losses were unavoidable.
Inspector Dillon also recognised the efforts that put in so much work behind the scenes, supporting those on the frontline – without them the fire fighters would be able to do their job.
He made mention of the RFS catering team from the Monteagle Brigade, radio operators and support crews tirelessly fuelling planes with water.
Inspector Dillon said he was also incredibly impressed with the Indoor Management Team based in the command centre at Harden.
Speaking to the Cootamundra Herald on Friday, Inspector Dillon said that RFS members also put in an enormous work to ensure that the weekend's extreme weather conditions didn't cause another flare up.
"We have really done some great work and I believe enough work (to prevent an out of control fire)," he said on Friday.
State Member for Burrinjuck Katrina Hodgkinson, who hails from the Yass district, praised the work of volunteer firefights, who came together to help protect their neighbours.
"We are extremely lucky to have the volunteers of the RFS looking out for our community," Ms Hodgkinson said.
"Without these volunteers, there is no doubt that the risk bushfires pose would be much greater," Ms Hodgkinson said.
