‘WE’RE GRATEFUL EVERYTIME WE GET OUT SAFELY’
With bushfires raging around the country, more and more brave Aussie women are putting their lives at risk to save others
Her courage is unquestionable but fire captain Beth Raines paid an awful price for her selfless action in fighting a mega-blaze, after her family home was gutted in the terrifying inferno engulfing the NSW Blue Mountains.
“She’s a special person,” says neighbour and Beth’s deputy fire captain Barry Freeman. He was trying to keep the flames from reaching his own home when Beth’s two-storey house near Mount Wilson caught alight and was burned to the ground in minutes – along with 15 homes in nearby Bilpin and Mount Tomah.
An emotional Barry praised his fire captain for her extraordinary dedication in the face of such a soul-destroying loss, revealing that Beth returned to duties the day after she lost her home and all her possessions a week ago.
“Today she’s out there doing her job,” he says.
‘AMAZING TEAM’
Beth is just one of an increasing number of Aussie women who are fighting fires shoulder to shoulder with their male counterparts as bushfires continue to ravage NSW, Queensland, WA, SA, NT, Tasmania and Victoria.
The biggest of them all is the Gospers Mountain fire in the Wollemi National Park, which robbed Beth of her home. Despite the brave efforts of our volunteer firefighters, it has burned through 380,000 hectares since October.
NSW Rural Fire Service volunteer Tanya Willey, 45, says there’s a moment every time when her emergency pager goes off that she shudders, fearing this could be the day she won’t make it home. And Tanya’s had a lot of those days this year.
“I can’t think of anything more rewarding than being a part of this amazing team of special people who risk their own lives to help others,” says the brave mum-of-three and deputy fire captain from Eglinton, near Bathurst.
“That underlying fear is real. I get an awful sense of dread, especially for my crew, and I pray every time we get in the
‘The camaraderie and mateship is what keeps us going’
truck we all make it home safely. The camaraderie and mateship is what keeps us going.”
With more catastrophic conditions expected over the next few months, Tanya admits one of the toughest parts of the job is the sheer physicality it takes to be a firefighter.
“The suit weighs a ton and boy it’s hot! The adrenaline kicks in and you just get it done. Sure, you get battleweary, but when you walk back through your front gate, home to your family... everything is suddenly OK.
“I love that I can bring empathy and compassion to so many heartbreaking situations,” she says.
Professional firefighter Bec Colling, 27, says it’s the unpredictable nature of this year’s seemingly relentless fires that have put both the volunteers and the Fire and Rescue firefighters under so much pressure.
UNPREDICTABLE
“It’s an honour to wear the Fire and Rescue NSW uniform and to be on the frontline, especially during these unprecedented times,” she says, explaining she’s been deployed to the Wollondilly district in the current crisis.
“It has been horrendous, but nothing like it is for those poor people who face losing everything they have. We’ve been sent to the frontline on and off since this started.
“There’s not one really bad day. It’s the unpredictable that’s the nightmare. We were sent out at night patrolling, making sure residents were safe and their homes weren’t a target for flying embers and jumping flames.
“The worst is when the fires jump and the embers become your enemy. That and the wind changing direction means the situation on the ground is changing every five minutes.
“The fight is relentless. Every rostered day off I’ve had since this began I’ve made myself available to get back out there – the more manpower lessens the risk for those in the firing line.” You can make a donation at www.rfs.nsw.gov.au/volunteer/support-your-local-brigade