CFA firefighters and operations staff have recently returned from a five-day deployment to Queensland. They share their experiences.
Acting Operations Officer Don Wilkie from Dandenong CFA
The Victorian team included Don’s fellow Airops personnel, CFA’s Warren Fuller (Air observer, Air attack) and Peter McEwan from DELWP (Air Operations Manager)
I went to Queensland with the attitude that I was there to help in any way I could. If what they really needed was someone to clean toilets, that’s what I would have done. But along with Peter McEwan I was called upon to use my aviation and air attack skills to assist as an Air Attack Supervisor.
On day one we assisted in developing aviation plans ‘till lunchtime. Then the calls came and I was off for the next four hours doing air attack, working fires from Gladstone to Mackay - a distance of more than 500 kilometres.
Day 2 and 3 were interesting, working at Finch Hatten and Camilla West near Mackay aiding ground crews by water bombing a chalet at the top of a large cliff. Firebombing rainforest felt a bit weird: ‘It just doesn’t burn like this’ was a common comment from locals.
Locals cut a landing strip in a cane field for us - it’s probably the first and last time in my career I will work from a cane field.
Day 4 and 5 brought more challenges.
When we arrived at Curtis Island we saw right away that it is a little like French Island in Victoria, just a lot bigger. Crews have to be barged across so it was going to take until the next morning for them to arrive.
When we flew in, the fire was 20 metres away from a homestead. We firebombed and saved the house. We lost a shed but with multiple drops saved the machinery sheds and machinery.
Another drop saved their grader which had just started to burn. A tractor was saved with yet another drop and was later used by a couple of locals to make fire breaks.
A woman, her children and two volunteers got away as we started water bombing, getting in their car and driving through the fire to the beach for safety before being airlifted out later by Queensland Rescue.
I landed later to check on the family and to apologise for not being able to save their shed. We tried really hard but just couldn’t. Out of the 15 buildings on the island we only lost one shed which was a good outcome considering the conditions.
We were on this fire two days, with six fixed-wing bombers and three helitacks. We also had two gel drops from the large RJ Bomber 166 air tanker as support.
Then the first storm arrived. Severe winds and lightning were coming and that forced us to bug out. We left as fire was encroaching on buildings but luckily there was enough rain coming down at that point to save them and basically put the fire out. It was very welcome by the local Queenslanders.
Everyone returned to Victoria tired but happy to have helped out. I am personally just honoured to have been able to assist Queensland in their time of need.
It was hard work. But I also loved the challenge. I have made some more friends there - fellow pilots and QFS people. They are a great bunch. They faced a lot of challenges as they just don’t have fires of this magnitude normally.
The crews on the ground did the really hard work and put the fires out. We were happy to assist them. I’m just glad that fireys from Victoria and other states could help out, as they did for us in 2009. Everyone pitched in to get the job done and came home each day safely and I would go and assist our interstate comrades again at a moment’s notice.
There were some challenges, some big and some little. But we were there to help in their time of need. So that's what we did. Adapt and overcome, and just help out wherever and whenever we were asked.
Photos courtesy Don Wilkie, Dandenong CFA
Further reading: Support continues with second Queensland deployment