A volunteer with the Rural Fire Service (RFS) for the past 10 years, the former manager of the Auburn Tennis Club, who now works at the Bankstown Sports Club, admits fighting these fires has been very challenging.
Losing track of exactly how many deployments he’s been on so far this summer, he said because the soil is so dry it was creating “very complex fire behaviour” with RFS crews experiencing plenty of long days.
“Every spare minute I’ve had has been on the fire truck,” he said.
‘We’ve spent a lot of time at Oakdale, the Oaks and Hilltop.
“On Saturday, because it was so hot we were on standby at Waterfall from 1pm, then we got called out to a grass fire at Georges Hall. We got there and helped put that out and then responded to a fire at Nowra before we were sent to Kangaroo Valley and spent the entire night protecting properties there. We got back home at about 7am on Sunday.”
However he said the response from those on the fire grounds had been “beautiful” with the fire trucks getting plenty of thumbs up as they drive by.
“In Georges Hall people came out and offered us cold drinks,” he said.
“My employers at the Bankstown Sports Club have also been very supportive.”
