Bacchus Marsh’s fire fighters without borders

EXPERT fire fighting practices and a commitment to colleagues led Bacchus Marsh’s fire brigade across two states this summer.

The Bacchus Marsh Fire Brigade had been sent to fires across Victoria.

Damien Fitzgerald, 4th Lieutenant for the brigade, was part of a crew that assisted in property protection and back burning as part of fires around Gellibrand, where they experienced “hot, very gusty conditions”.

On Wednesday 4 February, brigade members went across the South Australian border to assist in managing a fire along the state’s coast.

They were sent to contain a blaze around the Deep Creek National Park off Cape Jervis in the state’s southeast.

Mr Fitzgerald said the fire cut off access to the road to Kangaroo Island. The fire stopped supply of goods to the island for three days.

Brigade members performed a similar role to what was conducted near Gellibrand, supporting park crews to contain the fire.

“The terrain and the landscape over there didn’t really help,” Mr Fitzgerald said. “A lot of it was deep set of gullies and pine plantations and coastal scrub.

“Once a fire rips through that landscape, it can move pretty fast and hard.”

Mr Fitzgerald said that landscape where the fire was active was inaccessible, so they completed back burns to contain the fire.

“They’ll pick roads,” he said. “They’ll create what they call dozer lines, and they’ll back burn from those lines just to contain the fire. That was the most safest, the most efficient way to deal with that fire over there.”

He said a great deal of thought went into fire containment.

“There’s a lot more than just putting the wet stuff on the hot stuff,” he said.

Mr Fitzgerald began volunteering after a promise he made to his auntie, who lost her house during Sydney’s 1994 bushfires.

He said CFA members volunteered to support the community and fellow fire fighters.

“It’s basically what we’re here for,” he said. “We just do it to help the community.”

The brigade has 65 members.

“A lot of my members were born and bred in Bacchus Marsh,” Mr Fitzgerald said.

A logistics manager for Aldi, he said volunteers’ efforts would not be possible without employer support.

“Most of the members are nine to five workers and they will do the overnight, early morning calls,” Mr Fitzgerald said.

He said the brigade was recruiting daytime responders.

Interest in volunteering can be made at facebook.com/bacchusmarshcfa