When we attempt to understand who, in the name of sanity, volunteers to fight bushfires, such as those that descended on the Rockhampton and Springsure regions recently, we're reminded of that old adage, "You can't tell a book by its cover" ...

Another question might be, "What do these men and women do when they're not fighting fires?"

A couple of the volunteers involved in the recent incendiary battles are CQ University staff, one of them a senior executive, the other, Justin Parry, is a networking communications specialist...
Tanby Brigade HQ

Justin and his family live on acreage in the Tanby area, so he thought it'd be a good idea to "do his bit" to contribute to the safety of the properties in the Tanby area, "When we moved there, people suggested it would be a good idea to join the Brigade," he said.

However, around a month after purchasing the property, Justin was offered an incentive he couldn't refuse  ... fire ravaged the property! He is now Secretary of the Tanby Rural Fire Brigade as well as its 3^rd officer, and his wife Chairs the group. He said, "We'd probably devote around 3 to 4 hours per week to Brigade matters."

Justin said, "The brigade was originally a farmer-based unit, membership pretty well exclusively farmers and their sons, however as the demographic changed, more and more people with nine-to-five jobs moved into the district."

His Brigade, " ... like most others, is struggling for members, mainly because in this day and age, people just can't seem to find the necessary time." At one stage the Brigade looked like folding.

Aspiring members of Brigades should contact the Fire Warden for their district. Having satisfied the necessary bureaucratic requirements, the newcomer is issued with standard personal protective equipment, and enrols in basic training which is conducted by the Rural Fire Brigades, topics covered including health and safety and basic fire ground behaviour.

At the local level, training involves familiarisation with equipment like the truck, pumps, hoses and the like. Justin said, "A reasonable degree of fitness is required, however, there are plenty of other roles that don't necessarily involve active service at the fire front."

Members meet at two-monthly intervals, for a couple of hours, in addition to training sessions...
Tanby 3rd Officer Justin Parry

Justin recalled "a few hairy moments" encountered during the recent events, particularly a view of a fire front which was racing along, "It's interesting to see just how fast a fire can travel, that one was estimated to be covering a kilometre in a minute."

Public acclaim and appreciation of the efforts of the professional and volunteer fire fighters was substantial, however, during the battles there were many examples of residents and businesses contributing what they could to the comfort of the fighters, "We had people from one of the local estates show up with food," Justin said. Another example of extraordinary generosity towards the Brigade came from the proprietor of the Causeway Lake store who supplied food and cold drinks for the fire-fighters, at no cost to them.  

Justin said his wife rang the store to arrange catering for fifty people, the store owner said he'd supply sufficient for seventy, "... and he did that not once, but twice, eventually running out of bread-rolls, which would have been a detriment to his business, because it was a Sunday."

If you're interested in joining a local Rural Fires Brigade, Wardens' numbers are listed in the phonebook.