ACT Rural Fire Service volunteers have been sent a touching thank you gift from a school they helped defend during the height of the October bushfires last year.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
It comes as another 31 ACT fire fighters were deployed to Tumut on Wednesday evening to relieve colleagues who have been assisting local brigades battle a number of fires in the region.
St Columba's Catholic College in Springwood, NSW, sent the ACT RFS a letter and a poster thanking them for the bravery, skill and generosity they showed in saving their school from the devastating October fires.
"They left their homes and came to save ours," assistant school principal Phil Stewart said.
"We wanted to thank them because they are volunteers and it’s one of the great things about our country and one of the great things about being Australian is that we help each other out."
More than 1100 students from the school sheltered in their classrooms during the height of the bushfires as firefighters from across Australia battled the blazes around them.
About 209 houses were lost in the vicinity of the school, but it was unharmed.
Andrew Stark, chief officer of the ACT RFS, said although firefighters knew that the community supported what they're doing, it was always nice to get a thank you.
"It is something special when a community makes an acknowledgement; the famous sign on the farm gate or on the telephone poll which says thanks to the firefighters," he said.
"So when this school has tracked down the fire fighters who came to their assistance, that’s a really good thing."
Another batch of ACT RFS volunteers have just left behind their work, families and daily routine for a five-day deployment near Tumut, and kissed goodbye to any long weekend plans to spend a hot few days at the coalface.
School teacher James Orr joined the RFS within the last year and is making the most of the summer holidays by putting his hand up to go on his first deployment.
“I’ve been in Canberra for a couple of years now and I just thought I’d do my part for the community,” Mr Orr said, noting he was missing an annual Australia Day celebration back home in Mulwala, on the Victorian border.
“I’d like to think if there was ever a fire back home, someone would go out of their way to help out, to help mum, so that’s why I don’t mind going away, even though I’m not from Tumut, I like to think someone would do the same for Mulwala.”
Mr Stark said they have no trouble getting crews to volunteer, with deployment also great experience for new recruits.
He said deployment is a regular occurrence for rural firefighters in Australian summers, but this one has been particularly busy.
“We sent so many people to the Blue Mountains leading up to Christmas which was a little unusual but we always expect January, February, March that we send crews away,” Mr Stark said.
“It’s part of how all the rural fire services work together around the country.”
